 Mahuron had worked on getting the restoration started for several years, since the owner Estel Larue Allen died in 1982.In June 2006, a member of the "Friends", won a $1,000 door prize from the Washington County Community Foundation, an annual giveaway for use of community projects, and chose to use the $1,000 to start an Endowment [Acorn Fund] for the mill.The fund created a permanent endowment to market and operate the mill.