© Copyright  1997 - 2009,  Boston Mill Society

People Who Made History at the Mill

A Part of Many Families

R.C. "Uncle Dick" Finley built the first mill at the Falls of the Calapooia in 1847, and a second mill above the first a few years later. He saw an opportunity to gain more business by locating a third mill on the valley floor to intercept a pack train going to the southern gold fields. Boston Mills was built 1856-58 in partnership with P.V. Crawford and Alex Brandon. This mill burned in October 1862 and was immediately rebuilt. Before these mills, settlers had to take their wheat to Oregon City to have it ground.

Alexander Brandon [1826-1904], a carpenter by trade, used his skills helping to build Boston Mills. In 1866, Crawford and Brandon sold their share of the mill to William Simmons. No photo available of Alexander Brandon.

P.V. "Phil" Crawford, a millwright, joined Finley and Alex Brandon to build Boston Mills. Boston Mills was built while Oregon was still a territory, 1856-58. It was the third flour mill built by pioneer R. C. "Uncle Dick" Finley and his partners P.V. Crawford and Alex Brandon. Boston Mills went into operation in 1858, and until recently was operating under the name of Thompson's Mills.

Richard Chism Finley, 1814-1892

Photo Courtesy Linn County Museum, Brownsville

P.V. "Phil" Crawford & Family

Click on the image or the link to see a larger view which includes names and birth dates of the family members.

Photo Courtesy William C. Dunlap