The mill was a three-story brick-roller mill which was operated by John Barringer from 1894 to shortly before the turn of the century. It was originally built to be a machine shop by the heirs of Silas Burns around 1883, but once Barringer bought it he equipped it to be a gristmill with flour-milling machinery. See Miller's Review, March 15, 1895. The mill was destroyed by a fire in 1915. More information about this photograph can be found on page 277 of the book The Architectural Heritage of Chatham County, North Carolina written by Rachel Osborn and Ruth Selden-Sturgill.