Yates Mill, located on the NCSU farms will finally be opened to the public this Saturday. They've been trying to restore this mill as long as I've been alive, and I've been itching to look around it since I was a kid.

http://www.wakegov.com/parks/yatesmill/default.htm

Built 250 years ago, it's the oldest building I know of in central NC. I personally think the $4 million visitors center is unneccesary, but whatever, they had to waste that tax money somehow. Anyway, should be alot going on down there this weekend, so I plan on stopping by.

For those of you who don't know, just take Lake Wheeler road south out of raleigh. It's only a couple miles from campus.

5/15/2006 9:50:36 PM

anybody know if dr. vanderberg is still involved with it?

5/15/2006 9:56:37 PM

that reminds me of the mill place on the nc state fairgrounds that has free hushpuppies during the Fair

5/15/2006 9:58:36 PM

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~bowers/lane/joel.htm
same time period

5/15/2006 10:00:08 PM

^interesting. I doubt much of anything in this mill is actually 250 years old, other than a few rocks on the bottom of the dam. Still worth a look though.

[Edited on May 15, 2006 at 10:06 PM. Reason : .]

5/15/2006 10:03:00 PM

Nice to see it back in shape since a few years back when Hurricane season emptied the place.

5/15/2006 10:08:05 PM

time to go fishing.

5/15/2006 10:14:14 PM

I've heard there are bass as big as your arm in that lake. NCSU used to stock it for testing purposes. They'd shock it every now and then and tag the monsters when they floated up. Of course, that was long before the hurricane drained it in '96.

5/15/2006 10:16:24 PM

^actually, bass as big as your arm isn't that impressive. That would be about average size for bass. I wonder if they restock the pond after the hurricane.

5/15/2006 10:19:19 PM

I meant "long as your arm". Anyway, big ass freshwater fish.

5/15/2006 10:22:10 PM

Does the trail go all the way around it, or just back to the picnic shelter?

5/16/2006 12:18:47 AM

i went there a couple years ago for a class field trip at state. cant remember which class

5/16/2006 12:58:17 AM

I've been there ALOT for zoology classes. (But I've never noticed if the path goes all the way around.)

5/16/2006 1:01:28 AM

we are finishing building the trails now - they wind around the lake and up through the forest on the other side and unto the land that NCSU donated for the park

5/16/2006 8:11:50 AM

that picture is spooky

5/16/2006 8:25:49 AM

Are they gonna allow fishing there now? I know they used to have plenty of no fishing signs there.

5/16/2006 3:14:45 PM

I can't believe they are actually going to get this place open.. I've been riding by it for years and was hoping I'd live to see it open again!. I live right down the road too! PLEASE TO ALLOW ME FISHING!!!

Quote :

" 3. Fishing is allowed from the boardwalks only – NC Wildlife Resources Commission Rules and Regulations apply. "

Sounds good to me

[Edited on May 16, 2006 at 3:28 PM. Reason : .]

5/16/2006 3:25:39 PM

it looks beautiful... is anybody allowed to walk on the trails?

5/16/2006 4:14:47 PM

I went walking on the trails a few months ago...they are pretty nice

of course, they were still in the process of being groomed

5/16/2006 4:57:04 PM

ALRIGHT! NOW I DON'T HAVE TO GO SO FAR TO GET MY CORN MILLED!

for real though, that's a pretty cool building--I was wondering if they'd ever open it up to the public.

5/16/2006 9:41:12 PM

Interesting how what's now lake wheeler road is in more or less the exact same place today.

5/18/2006 7:44:42 PM

Quote :

"PLEASE TO ALLOW ME FISHING!!! "

are they stocking the lake then? b/c i can remember when the damn busted during whatever hurricane, there was some guy standing on the side of the road holding about a 7 pounder that he pulled out of the ditch.

5/19/2006 12:30:33 AM

beautiful

thanks for the heads up...will visit soon

5/19/2006 12:33:28 AM

I worked the grand opening party for Mitchell's catering. The mill and yates mill pond both looked awesome. Evidently it was headed by the AE Finley foundation so a lot of NCSU bigwigs were in attendance.

5/19/2006 8:39:03 AM

had to work today, anybody go to this?

5/20/2006 4:43:20 PM

nvm

[Edited on May 20, 2006 at 4:45 PM. Reason : ]

5/20/2006 4:45:20 PM

There is so much traffic in and around there. I live almost right beside it, and I could hardly turn into my driveway. I noticed a lot of busses and "special transit" vehicles around there too. Looks like a big to-do.

5/20/2006 4:47:29 PM

Thanks for this thread. I went and checked it out yesterday afternoon with my girlfriend. It wasn't crowded at all, and the whole place was really nice. There are a couple of docks, two walking bridges, the old mill itself, and a bunch of walking trails. There is also a really nice educational center, only open till 5pm. You can walk around the mill, and around the bottom of the dam.

We got to see a little snake, some cattails, and we saw some guy catch a turtle with a cane pole. I would definitely recommend checking it out.

p.s. there are no pets allowed.

5/21/2006 3:39:54 PM

i did community service there!

5/21/2006 3:51:08 PM

BALLER AS FUCK

5/21/2006 4:54:14 PM

anybody gone fishing there?

5/21/2006 5:35:25 PM

Yep! Did that today...

I caught a one pound, 12 inch bass.

Another due caught a 4.5 lb large mouth...

Awesome place....

5/27/2006 6:50:14 PM

^where did you fish? what bait did you use?

5/27/2006 7:29:04 PM

ur suppose to fish only on bridge but people were fishing on shore. But anyways I went by there the other day, there are lots of bass thats for sure. Most were around 2 pounds from what I saw. There are a few bream and crappie too.

Has anybody seen any catfish caught out there? and what kind?

5/28/2006 3:43:52 PM

I think we are going to go today

5/29/2006 11:08:49 AM

Got back a little while ago

They did a really nice job with the park

5/29/2006 4:45:56 PM

^caught any fish?

5/29/2006 5:01:26 PM

nah, we didnt go fishing this time...there were too many people there fishing already, plus it was midday...not the best time to go.

I'll be back with a fishing pole though, eventually.

5/29/2006 8:36:21 PM

My boyfriend caught a 10 pound bass a couple of days ago out there.

5/29/2006 8:40:21 PM

was it delicious?

5/29/2006 8:43:58 PM

^^you sure it was 10 lbs?

5/29/2006 8:48:31 PM

yeah I am positive it was 10 pounds. The guy beside us had a scale with him. The damn thing was HUGE.

5/30/2006 7:13:59 AM

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=local&id=4276865

Quote :

"(06/16/06 -- RALEIGH) - The remnants of Alberto caused big problems at some Wake County parks. The tropical downpour caused Yates Mill Pond to overflow, resulting in severe erosion. The mill's waterwheel was more than halfway submerged. Water surrounded the mill building for several hours. The waterwheel's stone support pillar was washed mostly away and will need to be repaired. The wheel itself was pushed sideways, out of alignment with the milling machinery, the county said. Crews are making repairs and the park will reopen as soon as possible. Officials say the mill will be restored completely. The damage comes less than a month after a huge celebration marking the park's reopening. Hurricane Fran's rains destroyed the old mill in 1996. "

6/16/2006 1:14:25 PM

Figures!

6/16/2006 1:27:22 PM

It only took them ten years to fix it after Fran. Its gonna be closed for a while now.

6/16/2006 1:32:29 PM