1901-1963

Iola Mills started the twentieth century as a center of activity on main street.  The railroad continued to ship logs and lumber from the mill.  However, as lumbering activity began to diminish, the sawmill was torn down in 1933.  The grist mill continued to grind corn and wheat as well as plane and mould lumber until those activities also began to wane.  One of the last commercial uses of the mill was to sell cement.  In 1963, the last Wipf family member to operate the mill, Freddie Wipf, sold the property to Lake Iola Estates Inc.  The new property owners drained the mill pond to clear and dredge the bottom of the lake.  They in turn sold the property to Bob and Stella Strand, who turned the mill into a museum of local history.  Bob and Stella sold the property to Al and Judy Morey who had the property listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The mill continued to operate as a museum until the current owners, Tom and Melody Fucik, purchased the property in 1996.  The museum was then closed and an extensive restoration project was begun.