The mill stone on display at the plaza is a documented remnant of one of the first industrial development attempts in Oklahoma City after it was settled on April 22, 1889. When Charles Grasham "Gristmill" Jones arrived in Oklahoma City in fall of that year, he quickly raised money to build a flour mill to meet the needs of the growing population. The mill was to connect to waterpower generated by a canal to be built between the mill and the North Canadian River (now known as the Oklahoma River).
The five-story grain elevator and mill was the largest building in town and the project was a critical source of jobs during first winter of 1889. Most historic accounts of the canal indicate it held water for a couple of days only to go dry either due to poor design or damage done by gophers.
Jones converted the mill to steam power by the summer of 1891 at which time it was reported to be the only such industry of its kind within 120 miles. It was then that Jones was given the nickname of Gristmill.
The millstone from the original operation was recovered in 1968 from a sidewalk at the northeast corner of Broadway and California Avenue. The millstone was eventually donated to the Oklahoma City/County Historical Society and it was displayed in the Clarence Ford plaza at the Santa Fe Parking Garage at a time when the ground floor office space was leased to the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber.
The chamber later moved to 123 Park Avenue. The plaza and its collection of artifacts were left forgotten to time until they were recovered by the historical society to be a part of the C.G. Jones historical display dedicated in 2025 at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds.
Follow these links and documents to learn more about the mill stone's history, recovery and how its provenance was established as part of research done by the late Mayor George Shirk (also one of the founders of the Oklahoma City/County Historical Society).
Operation Millstone documents
City Council memo from Nov. 19, 1968, and related building profiles from Operation "Millstone," when staff arranged recovery of the millstone from Broadway and California.
Download Operation Millstone PDF
1967 Affidavit of Elmer F. Rogers
Affidavit establishing the millstone's provenance through W. D. Gault, son of Oklahoma City's first elected mayor, and his recollection of C. G. "Gristmill" Jones' mill on Canal Street.
