Stone Ruin at Bergs Mill

San Antonio Mills	Catherine McDowell wrote in February 1974: Before artesian wells were drilled in the area around the headwaters of the San Antonio River it was a strong, swift stream with a flow many times its present volume and was capable of generating much power. The presence of this “mighty gush of sparkling water” had much influence on the location of the early missions. In the 15 miles from Brackenridge Park to Mission San Juan there have been 10 San Antonio River-powered mills established over the years, each contributing to San Antonio’s history.         The mill furtherest down stream is also the newest. Berg and Brother built a mill near Mission San Juan in 1879 for use as a grist mill. It later became a saw mill around which grew up the little community we know now as Berg’s Mill.
Office of the State Archeologist Texas Historical Commission	An Archeological and Historical Survey of the Proposed Mission Parkway San Antonio, Texas July 1976         To McDowell’s list can be added six others (two on the same site). First is the Higginbotham-Kerr Mill (founded ca. 1842) which later became the site of the Ashley gristmill (founded ca. 1866); this last in turn was used by the Berg brothers in conjunction with their wool-washing operation immediately to the south.         The principal type of mill found was the gristmill. [including] Higginbotham-Kerr [which] was known as a sawmill, as well.         Sometime after 1866 but before 1879, Louis J. Ashley established a corn mill over the remains of the Higginbotham-Kerr Mill. Berg Brothers’ Mill (1879-1888), chiefly concerned with wool-scouring and cotton-ginning, seems to have incorporated Ashley’s Mill as part of their business activities.         The last paragraph on page 238 of this report says: Roman Martinez (Informant 52) indicated early in the survey that as a child (ca. 1900) he knew of a mill north of both Berg Brothers’ Mill and the stone ruin. This statement implies that the stone ruin was distinct from the Berg Brothers’ Mill and therefore not incorporated into it.
Stone Ruin at Bergs Mill MP-11 (41BX246)	The stone ruin, situated east of the new Bergs Mill bridge and north of the old Bergs Mill bridge and Ashley Road (Fig. 11b), cannot be dated nor identified as to use without further documentary and archeological evidence. However, it can be shown that several milling enterprises existed at or near the spot in the past. Which, if any, actually occupied the building is not clearly established. A likely candidate is the sawmill/gristmill built there in the 1840s known as “Kerr and Higginbotham's Mill.” Other parties, too including Louis Ashley and the Berg brothers, are known to have operated mills in the area. The main research problem, then, is not so much the documentation of owners and types of mills that have been here in the past, but, instead, proving conclusively that this particular building was part of a specific milling enterprise, if indeed any at all.         The land upon which the ruin is located was originally part of the Juan Francisco Gomez land grant. Gomez sold the property to Jose Antonio de la Garza who in turn sold it to Roderick T. Higginbotham on January 4, 1842. It is with Higginbotham that we find the first reference to a mill on the spot. Harvey Alexander Adams described “Higginbotham’s Mill” in the fall of 1842 as a “first rate Saw and Grist Mill” near Mission San Juan. The Rev. J. W. deVilbiss mentioned visiting, in April of 1844, the “mill of Kerr and Higginbotham, builders and proprietors of this mill, doing a good business, sawing lumber and grinding corn. The people from Seguin and below the Guadalupe had their grinding done there” (Graves 1886:40-41). It is interesting that Roderick Higginbotham bought two mill saws, two guddeons and two cranks on July 27, 1840, at a sale of the estate of James Bowie. One might speculate that as early a 1840 Higginbotham thought of constructing a mill, bought some of the items from the James Bowie estate, and then with the aid of his business partner and relative, William P. Kerr, built the mill in 1841 or 1842.         According to a petition filed in the Probate Records of 1850 (BCA, Book C:112-113), William P. Kerr agree[d] to sell [Hendrick] Arnold his half-interest in the mill and the land Kerr owned south of the mill. Although Arnold died before the transaction could be completed, Kerr sold his half-interest in the mill and land to the Arnold estate in May of the same year. Martina Arnold y Shelton, the widow of Hendrick Arnold, consequently sold the interests to the Higginbotham-Kerr Mill on March 25, 1854, to W. C. Schaub and Charles G. Edwards. This seems the extent of the activity of Hendrick Arnold or his heirs in the Higginbotham-Kerr Mill which was operative near Mission San Juan. By 1855 Charles Edwards owned full interest in the mill, as well as the land that was later the site of Berg Brothers’ Mill. In 1859, when Joseph Anderson bought the property, the mill still functioned (BCA, Deeds, Vol. R-1:333-334). Joseph Anderson sold the land to Louis Ashley as the “San Juan Mill Tract”, it being the same property upon which the “mill known formerly as Kerr and Higginbotham’s saw and grist mill was originally situated” (BCA, Deeds, U-1:142-143). Whether the use of the words “known formerly” and “originally situated” implies a change in the mill’s name, or that it was torn down or in disuse is uncertain.         Most informants who can remember events around the turn of the century do not recall the rock structure being used. Most refer to hearing it called the “old mill” and little else. It is possible that it was not used after about 1890, since a better source of water power and machinery was now available at Berg Brothers’ Mill, which by that time had suffered decline.         It is reported by Gloria Felder (Informant 19) that her mother, Josephine Henning (Informant 37), found and still possesses half a millstone uncovered near the ruin during river channelization. Mrs. Felder believed that channelization did not destroy all the remnants of a dam that supplied water for the ditch that passed by the structure to Berg Brothers’ Mill. The stone ruin today is overgrown with foliage and is in bad repair. In the 1950s, much of the upper and lower sections of the building was still intact. Now, due to constant vandalism and the elements, much of these walls has disappeared. It is recommended that the structure be protected from further disturbance and that extensive archeological testing be done in and around the building to ascertain its function. Investigations also should be made to locate the dam and ditches that were there.
Kerr Family at Bergs Mill	The application of Ola Mitchell Hofheinz for membership in the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, member #1592, states that her grandfather: : William Price Kerr, came to Texas in 1839, and settled on the San Antonio River, where Berg’s Mill was located in 1930. His family lived in Mission San Juan, to be protected from the Indians and for the children to attend school. Grand Father and Grand Mother were charter members of the first Methodist Church organized in San Antonio. The first Methodist sermon preached in San Antonio was preached in Grand father Kerr’s house by Rev. J. W. Devilbiss, who later married my aunt Lucinda Kerr. Grandfather Kerr built and owned the first grist mill in that part of the country. He sold the mill and moved to Medina in 1847.         The report cited above says that both Higginbotham and Kerr came to Texas in 1839. William Price Kerr, with his children and a brother and sister of his wife, did arrive about that time. Roderick Toliver Higginbotham had been in San Antonio for some years before that. He received Headright Certificate No. 72 in Bexar County on 1 February 1838, which states he "proved according to law that he came into the county previous to the 2nd of May 1835 is a single man and entitled to one third of a league..."
Little Remains of the Stone Ruin	When I saw what remains of the Stone Ruin, it was practically obscured by tall grasses. There may be nothing left in the grass but dust by this time. It was completely unprotected.         The stone ruin may well be remains of the Higginbotham-Kerr mill. If so, it is a great loss. Archeological investigations of the site would probably yield very interesting information about the life of the area in the 1840's.         There is a reference to the old mill at nearby San Juan Mission, but it is identified as the Arnold Mill, which the research shows is inaccurate.

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