Working to Save History

The mill and the Queen Anne style owner's house, built in 1904, were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The mill served as a commerce center for the town of Boston. The town, platted in 1861, had a saloon, blacksmith shop, school, store, post office and several homes, including the farm of Richard Farwell. Boston survived until 1871 when the Oregon & California Railroad laid tracks west through what is now Shedd.

In 1994, Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission and the National Trust for Historic Preservation recommended the mill and home be preserved as an historic site.

The Boston Mill Society was organized in 1994. In 1996, Leland Consulting Group conducted a feasibility study through a $65,000 U.S. Forest Service Grant administered through Linn County. The Boston Mill Society has received two grants of $1,500 each, both matched by the society: in 1996 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for planning, and in 1997 by the Linn County Extension Association for a sign identifying the historic site.

Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) purchased Thompson's Mills in 2004 and is in the process of preserving and developing the site for benefit of the general public.