Address Restricted, North Little Rock, Arkansas. County/parish: Pulaski.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places December 04, 1986. NRIS 86003585.
Part of Arkansas Sculptures of Dionicio Rodriguez TR (NRIS 64000021).
1 contributing site.
T. R. Pugh Memorial Park (or The Old Mill) is a re-creation of an 1880s era water-powered grist mill located in North Little Rock, Arkansas. It was used in the opening scenes of the movie classic Gone With The Wind. In 2010, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The park was built in 1933 by Justin Matthews and named in honor of Thomas R. Pugh, of Portland, Arkansas, who was a close friend and benefactor of Matthews. The park was developed as a tourist attraction for the nearby Park Hill and Lakewood subdivisions, also built by Matthews. The architect for the park and the mill was Frank Carmean with artist Dionicio Rodriguez serving as sculptor of the concrete work to simulate wooden, iron, and steel structures in a style known as faux bois, or fake wood.
Several elements within the Old Mill are original to the time period the park depicts. An iron gristmill on the first floor was donated by the Cagle family of Pope County, Arkansas from their family mill and is dated 1828.
In the present day, the Old Mill serves as the backdrop for weddings and portrait photography.
In 2008, the roof was set on fire, but no permanent damage resulted.
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