The History of the Mill Race & Mill Pond

The Mill Race is a partially natural, partially hand-dug waterway which runs through Springfield, Oregon, a community of approximately 50,000 situated at the southern end of the Willamette Valley. It begins near Clearwater Park on the Middle Fork of the Willamette River. From there it follows a meandering northwesterly course of about 3.5 miles into a 30 acre Mill Pond. As it leaves the Mill Pond, it passes through downtown and meets again with the Willamette.

Originally constructed in 1852 to power Springfield's earliest industries, the Mill Race supported both timber and agriculture in the early years. Connecting naturally existing waterways, Elias Briggs, the founder of Springfield, hand-dug connections to create a waterway which would drive a saw mill and grist mill. The grist mill thrived until it burned down in 1930.

In 1901, the Booth-Kelly Lumber Company purchased the saw mill and the entire Mill Race. Booth-Kelly constructed a lumber mill and millpond at the base of Springfield Butte. A water tank was built on the butte to serve the City with water pumped from the Mill Race. Booth-Kelly built and leased a steam plant to the Oregon Power Company in 1911. Later that year, a fire burned down everything on the Booth-Kelly site except the steam plant. In 1915, an electric mill was constructed and thrived through the late 1950's.

In 1958, Booth-Kelly sold the mill and Mill Race to Georgia-Pacific. In 1964, competition and other market forces resulted in the closure of most of the mill. Several of the buildings were converted into a retail center which lasted until the early 1980's.

In 1985, Georgia-Pacific donated most of the Mill Race (including water rights), the Mill Pond and the old Booth-Kelly lumber mill to the City of Springfield. Since then, the City has refurbished portions of the old mill buildings to encourage development of the wood products industry. Springfield Forest Products now operates the former mill.

With most of the Mill Race in public ownership, a new chapter in Mill Race history is beginning. Since it's donation to the City, efforts are being made to enhance selected areas and manage water flows. The need to restore this community asset has provided an opportunity to look at the entire Mill Race and plan for it's future.

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