While exploring his property, Beck saw a waterfall coming out of a cave while hunting on the property. He quickly decided it would be a perfect place for a mill. This waterfall, which is actually a spring, is the second largest spring in Indiana. The cave is a mile-long, and provides water throughout the year. The first mill was built in 1808, and was 11 ft x 11 ft stone and log structure. Beck built a small dam uphill west of the mill, which through gravity would create a low head of pressure for water to go through wooden troughs to turn the mill wheel, which was overshot. Some of the stones used for mill were buhr, and were brought to the site from Louisville, but originally from France. A second mill, built in 1825, was a frame building considerably larger than the first mill, which it replaced. Two carding]] machines was added in 1828.