War Axe State Recreational Area
PO Box 427
Gibbon, NE 68840-0427
The Gibbon Mill was the first to take advantage of that water power. A few months later the Shelton Flouring Mill was erected on the Wood River in the fall of 1873 by Jason I. and Dr. I. P. George, brothers. The original mill was 24 feet by 36 feet and two and one-half stories high. A second building was added within a few years, 24 feet by 40 feet and three and one-half stories high, containing four run of stone. The mills had a capacity of 75 barrels of flour in a 24-hour period, and could produce 20 to 40 bushel of feed per hour in the same 24-hour period.
In 1893 the mill was changed from the old stone system to the roller process. In 1901 the name was changed to Shelton Milling Company. The milling capacity in 1915 was 100 barrels a day. Although flour was not made in its later years, the Shelton mill continued to operate until 1935, when it was destroyed by fire and not rebuilt.
Old timers remember Lake Shelton at the north edge of town which was formed above the dam. It was a popular picnic spot - a place to ice skate in winter and to swim and boat in summer. For several years in the early 1900's a small steamboat ran on the lake, and area boat races were held.