Bristol, Indiana

and Bonneyville Mill Park

Bristol stands at the intersection of two state highways just a stone's throw from the Indiana Toll Road. Truck traffic
through the town is relentless because Indiana 120 is a favored route for truckers wanting to avoid tolls. Bristol has
its charms and sweet spots and some contrasts.

1953 Masonic Temple hosts a sporting goods store on the first floor.

In the 1830s Edward Bonney established a grist mill and sawmill on the Little
Elkhart River, planning to grow a thriving community along what promised to
become a major transportation route. The transportation didn't evolve according
to his expectations, and he sold the business and became a tavern keeper.
Later he was accused of counterfeiting and fled the area. The mill is equipped
with a turbine that produces more power with less water flow and pressure
than a water wheel. That change probably took place after the Civl War,
when turbines were first introduced. The stone buhr mills never were replaced
with the more efficient steel roller mills introduced in the 1880s. Bonneyville
Mill still grinds flour with the original stone mills, and the mill and its
surroundings are an Elkhart County Park.

Lucid Energy Technologies, of Goshen, Indiana, has installed a generator driven by a Gorlov Helical Turbine in a
duct mounted to the dam's bypass gate. The generator wasn't operating when I was there.

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