Motor

Overview

The mill that outlived its town

John Thompson had already built mills at Elkader and Clermont. In October 1867 he joined the Garnavillo lawyer James O. Crosby and the Clermont mill man J. P. Dickinson to build something bigger on the Turkey River, at Hastings Bottom, where the Downey sawmill had stood: a gristmill, a sawmill, a farm and a town. Thompson named it Motor. Northeast Iowa RC&D ties the name to "motor power," then a new term; other accounts call the reason unknown. The six-story mill of local limestone was finished late in 1869 and grinding by 1870. Around it rose a cooperage to make flour barrels, an inn, a livery barn, an icehouse, a store, a school and a few houses.

Motor needed a railroad to ship its flour, and almost got one. In 1874 a narrow-gauge line reached within four miles and built a station, but a flood washed out its ties before the track was laid and it never came. Insects ruined the region's wheat, and farmers turned to other crops. In July 1883 a major flood ended the milling for good. The partners split, farmers rented the buildings, and in 1903 Louis Klink bought the place, sold the machinery and farmed it. The Klinks kept it about 80 years.

The Clayton County Conservation Board bought Motor in 1983. The mill and four stone outbuildings from the late 1860s still stand in a 155-acre park with trails, a canoe launch and primitive campsites, and the townsite is on the National Register.

Video

Up the mill's floors and down to the turbine pit

A first-time visitor films the inside of the mill on a windy day: the bare plank floors and timber posts, the grain elevator and bolting machines, signboards on the mill's history, names written on the walls of the top floor, and a window the wind had just blown out. In the basement a guide shows the turbine pit, dug out in 2020 with 78 truckloads of silt removed, and points to where a second turbine still lies in the mud. Filmed on a phone in portrait; the only narration is the filmer's brief remarks and a site guide's talk in the basement.

Play “Motor Mill Clayton County Elkader/Mederville Iowa” from YouTube

Timeline

Mill, flood and farm

1. 1866Work on the mill begins, a year after the Civil War, by Northeast Iowa RC&D's account.
2. 1867John Thompson, James O. Crosby and J. P. Dickinson form John Thompson and Company in October to build a gristmill, sawmill, farm and town at Hastings Bottom, where the Downey sawmill had stood. Thompson names it Motor. The cooperage is started in August.
3. 1869–1870The six-story limestone mill is finished late in 1869 (December by Wikipedia's account, November by Northeast Iowa RC&D's) and is grinding by 1870.
4. 1870sAn inn, a livery barn, an icehouse, a store, a school and a few houses go up around the mill. Insect invasions in 1867, 1871 and 1887 destroy the region's wheat.
5. 1874–1875A narrow-gauge railroad comes within four miles and builds a station, but a flood washes out its ties and it never reaches Motor. The town plat is filed in August 1875.
6. 1883A big flood in July ends milling for good. The partnership breaks up, and local farmers rent the buildings for twenty years.
7. 1902–1915Motor has 22 people in 1902 and 26 in 1915, by atlas counts.
8. 1903Louis Klink buys the property, sells the machinery and farms it. His family keeps it for about 80 years.
9. 1977The 17-acre Motor townsite is listed on the National Register as a historic district on August 2.
10. 1983The Clayton County Conservation Board buys the site. It becomes a 155-acre park.
11. 2020Crews dig out the mill's turbine pit, hauling away 78 truckloads of silt, a site guide says in a video posted in October 2024.
12. 2023–2024The restored inn opens for group stays in 2023; the stable gets a new roof, floor and power in 2024.

What's left

Stone buildings on the Turkey

The mill is the landmark: six stories of limestone beside the Turkey River, with the iron truss bridge just downstream. The site's own pages describe it with four related stone buildings from the late 1860s. The county has restored them in stages. It opened the upper floors of the inn for group stays in 2023 and put a new roof, concrete floor and power in the stable in 2024, and in a video posted in October 2024 the mill's turbine pit stands excavated. A canoe launch, trails and five primitive campsites ($15 a night) round out the park, and the Motor Mill Trail runs along the paved shoulder of IA 13 from Elkader to Grandview Road.

The old maps show how little the town grew. The 1902 Elkader sheet prints Motor at a bend in the Turkey, with Communia to the south. The 1964 Littleport sheet shows a handful of buildings at Motor where a road crosses the river, with a quarry on the hill to the southwest. On the 1984 sheet, Motor is a name on a county road between Communia and the river.

• Motor Mill, six stories of limestone (1869)
• The inn, now rented for group stays
• The livery stable, rented for events
• Cooperage and icehouse
• Iron truss bridge over the Turkey River (1895)
• Townsite on the National Register (1977)

Historic maps

Motor on USGS maps, 1902–1984

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

19021:125,00019641:24,00019841:100,000

Map & directions

Getting there

Elkader is the nearest town, seven and a half miles away. Take IA 56 and IA 13 south, then Grandview Road, Hazel Road and Galaxy Road down to the river. From Cedar Rapids, the drive runs north on US 151 and IA 13, then county roads through Littleport.

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

Photos

Motor in photos

Along a stone wall at the mill, looking down the gravel road to the river, July 2006Motor Mill from the road, July 2006A stone outbuilding and the mill, July 2006The mill, the picnic lawn and the iron bridge over the Turkey, July 2006The mill and bridge from the lawn, July 2006

Visitor reports

Been to Motor?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near Motor

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Iowa index.

• Littleport3.8 mi S · Clayton
• York12.9 mi S · Delaware
• Hartwick27.3 mi S · Delaware
• Doris32.6 mi SW · Buchanan
• Conover39.3 mi NW · Winneshiek
• Siegel51.0 mi W · Bremer
• Ivanhoe64.1 mi S · Linn
• Petersville71.5 mi SE · Clinton

Sources

Sources and credits

1. Wikipedia, "Motor, Iowa", retrieved October 2026: John Thompson and Company (October 1867), Hastings Bottom and the Downey mill, the cooperage (August 1867) and mill (December 1869), the 1875 plat, the town's buildings, the narrow-gauge railroad of 1874 and its washout, the July 1883 flood, the renters and the Klinks from 1903, the 1983 purchase, the 155-acre park, the 1977 National Register listing (17 acres), the 1902 and 1915 populations, the coordinates.
2. ghosttowns.com, Motor: fact sheet (2WD, fall for the leaves, climate, remains) and history (insect years 1867, 1871 and 1887; the iron bridge of 1895; the reason for the name unknown).
3. Motor Mill Historic Site, "Tours & Events", read October 28, 2026: daily self-guided hours through October 13, weekend guided tours, group tour phone, events into 2027. Also its About page: the six-story mill and four stone buildings, county ownership since 1983, interior open only on tours.
4. Clayton County Conservation, Motor Mill Historic Site, read October 2026: free tours with donations, $15 primitive camping, the inn opened in 2023, the stable finished in 2024, the Motor Mill Trail, guided tours on summer weekends, directions via Grandview, Hazel and Galaxy roads.
5. murfdog221, "Motor Mill Clayton County Elkader/Mederville Iowa", YouTube, posted October 13, 2024: the video on this page; the mill floors and the 2020 turbine-pit excavation.
6. Northeast Iowa RC&D, "Historic Motor Mill", YouTube, posted November 3, 2025: construction begun in 1866 and finished in November 1869, the partners' backgrounds, the name from "motor power."
7. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits

• Along a stone wall at the mill, looking down the gravel road to the river, July 2006: ABreiholz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Motor Mill from the road, July 2006: ABreiholz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
• A stone outbuilding and the mill, July 2006: ABreiholz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The mill, the picnic lawn and the iron bridge over the Turkey, July 2006: ABreiholz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The mill and bridge from the lawn, July 2006: ABreiholz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Topo map, area base map and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
• Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Elkader 1902, 1:125,000; Littleport 1964, 1:24,000; Oelwein 1984, 1:100,000.