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The Conference for the Society for the Preservation of Old Mills will be held in the Bluegrass State of Kentucky and hosted by John Childers and the US Army Corps of Engineers at Mill Springs Mill on September 19th and 20, 2025.
This year folks are encouraged to make visits to area attractions on their own on Friday while the guided bus tour will be conducted on Saturday. The SPOOM Board will be meeting on Friday evening. The Host Hotel is the Lake Cumberland Best Western in Monticello, KY. It is in the Eastern Time Zone. Be sure to request the SPOOM rate. Continental Plus Breakfast is included with your stay. Registration for SPOOM members is the same as last year, $275 for Members and $300 for non Members. Hotel space must be reserved no later than August 15th. Please note, if you will be paying with a Debit Card, the hotel charges the full amount, in advance, so be prepared. SPOOM members can pay for the conference online using a credit card or a check along with the mail-in registration form. Checks should be made payable to John Childers and mailed to 111 S. 2nd St., Greensburg, KY 42743. You may recall, John Childers also hosted the SPOOM conference at Stanton’s Mill in MD in 2008.
Buses will depart the hotel Saturday morning and travel south into nearby Tennessee to visit the Alvin C. York Grist Mill in Pall Mall. The mill is located in a Tennessee State Historic Park which also includes the York family home and a visitors center. Alvin York was a decorated hero of World War I. Travel time from Monticello is just over 1 hour, and we will plan a one hour stay at the park. Next on the list is the Levi-Jackson Wilderness Park. As you may know, Kentucky has had many weather related events this spring. Floods and tornadoes have taken their toll on many areas of the state. While much of the timber along the Wilderness Park Road was destroyed, the mill building in the park was undamaged. Travel time from Pall Mall to London, KY is approximately one and a half hours. Box lunch will be provided at Levi Jackson Park. Again, we plan to remain at the park for approximately one hour before going to Mill Springs Mill located between Somerset and Monticello. Travel time is 1 hour. Mill Springs Mill, located on a hillside above beautiful Lake Cumberland, features a 40’ Fitz waterwheel. The parking area is above the mill. The steep hillside descent has a handrail, but anyone with mobility issues may want to take the rides offered by the park rangers. The wheel is on the north side of the building. We will be touring in late afternoon so photographers may want to visit the mill on Friday morning (on their own) to get the best light for the photo. Our membership meeting and banquet will be held at The Boathouse Restaurant at Conley Bottom Resort. The restaurant is located on the marina and features beautiful sunset views of Lake Cumberland. There is a staircase to the dining room. If you have special dietary restrictions, please let your host know on the registration form. We will do our best to offer vegetarian meals with advance notice.