produced in the area." Construction of the new mill was completed around 1897; a notice that appeared in the local newspaper on November 25, 1897, noted that "Mr. Hodgson is making a good grade of flour on his new roller mill." Records show that at this time, Alva Hodgson's brother, George, bought 1/3 interest in the mill. In 1901, Alva Hodgson sold his brother the remaining 2/3 interest, and George Hodgson became sole proprietor. Alva Hodgson went on to build nearby Dawt Mill, completed in 1909, as well as a cotton gin in Harrison Arkansas. He returned to Hodgson Mill to work with his brother and improve the mill; he installed a dynamo to generate electricity to light the mill, and imported and installed two millstones, or buhrstones from the French Pyrenees for stone-grinding flour. Despite failing vision, Alva helped run the mill until his death in 1921. George Hodgson then continued to operate the mill until his death in 1927. Ownership of the mill passed to Fred O. Foster from 1927 to 1934. In 1934, the mill was purchased by businessman Charles Theodore Aid. The mill stayed in the ownership of the Aid family until 1998 and so became known locally as the Hodgson-Aid Mill, or Aid-Hodgson Mill. The mill was leased and operated intermittently from 1934 to 1949. In 1949 Fred Leach, an experienced miller, assumed the lease and both operated the mill and began marketing products through wholesalers, mostly whole grain flour and corn meal. He also provided picnic tables, campsites, and operated a gift shop for visitors to the mill. Leach increased production of meal and flour to as much as 2,000 pounds a day. From 1963 to 1969, the Harold Stott family took over operation of the mill. They expanded the line of products to include "white and yellow cornmeal, whole wheat cereal, and bran, whole wheat, unbleached, rye and pancake flours." In 1969, Ken and Teena Harrington, avid antiquers visiting the area, stumbled on the property. They took over the lease, and initially began selling antiques and operating canoe rentals for the nearby Bryant River They also offered flour and products in their store, and as demand grew; they incorporated the company as Hodgson Mill Inc, and sold products to wholesalers and grocers. When Ken took up the lease in 1969, the mill was grinding only a couple of hundred pounds of flour a