Hawn’s Mill

Beginning in 1836, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began moving from their temporary homes in nearby Clay County to the newly created Caldwell County. Some found work and available land near the property of Jacob Hawn, who had come to the area a few years earlier and established a mill along a bend in Shoal Creek. Although not a member of their church, Jacob Hawn remained on friendly terms with his Latter-day Saint neighbors and mill workers. By 1838, Hawn’s Mill was the center of a small but thriving community.

On October 30, 1838, an armed mob of vigilantes from a neighboring county attacked the Latter-day Saints at Hawn’s Mill, killing 14 men and 3 young boys and wounding 14 other people. The dead were hastily buried or put into a mass grave at the bottom of a dry well as the Latter-day Saints were forced to leave the area, and eventually the state of Missouri, that winter. Jacob Hawn also left Missouri, eventually moving to Oregon.

Read more about Hawn’s Mill in Saints Volume 1, Chapter 30.

What to Expect

Jacob Hawn’s house and mill no longer exist in the landscape. There are no trails or pathways from the parking lot, but the woods and fields near the bend in the creek remain a quiet, peaceful place of contemplation and remembrance for those who lost their lives and are buried here. During seasons of heavy rain, flooding can cause roads to become impassable.