04/28/2026
Here is a historic image of the iconic Alley Mill in the early 1900s, before it was repainted in its legendary red color. We are told that in the early 1930s, the white paint on the mill was beginning to look weathered, so Missouri State Parks sent employees out to look for new paint for the mill. Bulk paint was hard to find in Shannon County during the Great Depression, and there were very few options. The cheapest paint in the largest quantity that the men could find was red paint, intended for barns. The park decided it would work, and in doing so created one of the most iconic historic sites in Missouri.
Now, does anyone have a photograph from the 1980s when the mill was repainted in a shade of red that looked pink??