History

In 1874, three young men formerly from Tennessee started working on the mill dam on the San Marcos River near the community of Luling, Texas.  These men were Leonidas Hardiman, James Merriweather, and his older brother, John Merriweather.  They were the builders of the original installation.  The San Marcos River was a great source of power but the destruction it caused during the flash floods caused the mill dam to be rebuilt several times.

A grist mill was built to provide the residents with fresh cornmeal, as well as a cotton gin.  The area of Luling yielded many cotton crops and the cotton gin became most helpful to the people in the area. 

In 1883, Hardiman and the two Merriweather brothers had the Orchard and Company install a water wheel at the mill.  This gave Luling enough water to supply homes and businesses.

A few years later, four men purchased the property from the Merriweather brothers and Hardiman.  These men were Bob Innes, Joh Orchard, J.K. Walker, and Fritz Zedler.

Fritz Zedler operated the mill while the others supported the idea of having an operational mill.  Since Fritz had about 12 years of experience as a mill owner, he added many new installations, one of which was a sawmill.  This would prove to be a great boon.

Mr. Zedler eventually bought out his partners about 1888.  He continued to add to the mill and made his oldest son Berthold a partner in the fall of 1888.

On October 15, 1888 the three story gin burned to the ground.  The Zedlers had no fire protection or insurance.  But all was not lost, as the people of Luling rose to help their good friend.

Important Note...
	Zedler Mill received the National Park Service grant in 2003 in partnership with GBRA.

To read about the NPS grant click here