Historical Marker Program

Clear Creek Water Mill

McCurtain County
Location: on US-70, west of Valliant
Coordinates: 34.006301, -95.119547
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: Arts; Ethnic Diversity; Industry/Business; Territorial Period, 1861–1907; Water; Westward Expansion, 1803–1861

Water-powered grist mill in operation on Clear Creek early as 1819 by white settlers in old Miller County, Arkansas Territory. New mill built in 1837 by Joel Kemp (Choctaw). A later owner, John Wilson (Choctaw), replaced crude undershot wheel with a turbine-type wheel, which also powered a cotton gin. John Prince acquired mill site in 1909, updated machinery and replaced log dam with concrete, drilled two artesian wells and supplied water to town of Valliant for many years. Adjacent swimming pool was a favorite recreational facility. Mill ceased operation about 1944 and the swimming pool closed 1962. Remnants of the mill remain. Tradition holds that two Black enslaved people, “Uncle” Wallace and “Aunt” Minerva Willis, first gave voice to renowned spirituals such as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” on nearby plantation.