Tennessee milling company oldest family business in state

WATAUGA, Tenn. -- As corn meal spills out from a chute onto the floor, George St. John scoops up a handful of the pale yellow granules, letting them sift through his fingers.

"See there? Look at that," he said, a smile parting his lips. "That's good meal."

At 86, St. John knows a thing or two about milling, which has been part of his family for six generations. Founded as Dungan's Mill in 1778, St. John Milling is the oldest business in Tennessee, according to state records.

"This is part of me," he said. "I feel blessed."

The main building's hand-chiseled stone foundation and timber framework are still in place, more than two centuries after Jeremiah Dungan built his company in the hills that would become northeastern Tennessee.

The mill was passed down to Dungan's children and grandchildren. In 1866 George St. John's grandfather, who was Dungan's great- nephew, bought it and changed the name.

Originally powered by a 16-foot-high wooden water wheel, the mill flourished for more than a century in the area known as the "Bread Basket of the Southeast." The mill's flour and corn meal were shipped all over the region, and in busy seasons wagons would line up overnight to grind their grain.

When St. John bought the mill from his father in 1935 for $3,000, the company was struggling. Area mills had started closing because of competition out West.

St. John decided to bring the mill up to date. He bought newer equipment, replaced the wooden water wheel with a more efficient steel one and decided to expand the product line to include livestock and poultry feeds.

The company experienced ups and downs through the years, including bitter winter weather that would cause the water wheel to freeze.

"Many mornings I'd have to go out there and chisel the ice off the wheel," St. John said. "It was so cold."

The water wheel was retired in the mid-1950s, when St. John switched to electric motors.

St. John decided to retire himself in 1975 and sold the mill to his daughter, Elizabeth, and son-in-law, Ron Dawson. But he still shows up every day, answering the phone, talking to customers and helping the mill's five employees.

"I've gotten drawn into it more than I thought," he said. "I'll keep coming as long as I can tend to stay active."

Dawson, who ran the mill while his wife stayed home with the children, faced a major decision in the late 1970s, when he found out the mill's old equipment didn't meet federal food production standards.

Instead of spending hundreds of thousands on new equipment to keep making flour, Dawson and St. John decided to make only meal for animal feed. That segment now makes up about 60 percent of the business' revenue.

The rest comes from the attached store, which sells fertilizers, insecticides, flower and plant seeds, pet food, biscuit mixes and other supplies. St. John has expanded the inventory over the years in response to customers' n eeds.

"Farming has changed so much. The farmer wants one-stop service," St. John said. "And we're also getting more suburban business -- people with gardens."

Changing with the times is one reason the mill has stayed in business. The other reason is good, old-fashioned customer service, Dawson said. He knows nearly all of his customers and greets them by name, just as his father-in-law did for years.

"When I took over, he (St. John) said, `It's basic: Treat people the way you'd like to be treated,'" Dawson said. "We treat them as a friend."

Dawson thinks the milling company will keep going -- and changing - - well into the next century. The feed-and-seed store could be used as part of another business and the mill could become a tourist attraction, he said. He hopes his children, ages 18 and 22, will carry on the tradition.

"I've told my children ... they have a wonderful opportunity to continue the business," he said. "I said, `Don't sell it, because once you do, it's gone.'"

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