Pandemic makes Weisenberger Mills busy: 'Everybody wants flour that hasn't ever used any,' Mac says

A photo taken Wednesday shows the mill, creek, dam and, at left, part of the"shotcrete" abutment for the new bridge. 

A Weisenberger mill has stood on the Scott County bank of South Elkhorn Creek near Midway since 1865, and the current mill has been there since 1913. It has become a timeless icon in Central Kentucky, but it is also a business, and at a time when many businesses are closed, it is busy -- for the same reason a lot of Kentuckians are not. They're home, and they're baking.

"Things are really busy here," Mac Weisenberger, the fifth-generation owner of Weisenberger Mills, said in an email Tuesday. "Everybody wants flour that hasn’t ever used any. The website orders are almost overwhelming for now."

The mill was somewhat isolated for almost three and a half years because the state, citing safety concerns, closed the 80-year-old bridge that crossed the creek just downstream from the mill dam. After debates about how many lanes the bridge would have, and going through a long historical and environmental review, property negotiations and a rebidding, a new one-lane bridge opened Dec. 23. For a story and video on the ceremonial ribbon-cutting, click here.