Haun's Millstone Commemorative Marker at Breckenridge, Missouri
26 May 2001

Things are happening in Breckenridge, Missouri. In 2001 area planners raised money and obtained matching grants to improve city park facilities. Hats off to Tonya Reed, Park Board President, and her associates in the project. In addition, a new interpretive marker for the millstone from Haun's Mill was included in the larger comprehensive park improvement project.

         A dedication of the Breckenridge City Park and Haun’s Millstone marker was held Saturday, 26 May 2001 at 2 p.m., at the park, located at 6th and Broadway in Breckenridge, Missouri.

Breckenridge Marker Revisited

Text on the new commemorative marker:

Mill Stone believed to be from Haun's Mill (1836-CA. 1845). This relic represents a tragic episode in American Religious history. A testament to an enduring need for greater understanding and tolerance between peoples of differing ideologies, including religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds.

As a result of miscommunication and feelings of powerlessness to effect change in the wake of what they saw as offensive Mormon military actions in Daviess County, Livingston County Regulators and other volunteers, brutally attacked the nearby Mormon settlement of Haun's Mill, on Shoal Creek, 30 October 1838, killing 17 persons, 14 of whom were hastily interred in a partially completed well on the site.

In memory of the massacre, local residents moved this Mill Stone to Breckenridge sometime after 1927 [1914].

     Dedicated May 26, 2001 City of Breckenridge Park Board and Missouri        Mormon Frontier Foundation

        Since the marker text was composed, MMFF has found documentation that the mill stone was moved to Breckenridge about 1914. By 1941 the citizens of Breckenridge had set the stone in concrete to prevent the possibility of theft.

          Breckenridge Mayor Terry Gardner welcomed the gathered crowd. An opening prayer was given by Pastor Elmer Barnett. After the Presentation of Colors, Raymond Johnston and Ray Johnson laid a wreath in remembrance of soldiers who gave their lives in days gone by. The Firing Squad of American Legion Post #117 provided a 21 gun salute to those being honored. Tonya Reed, spoke concerning the grants and donations received, and recognized the many people who helped with the project. Following a ribbon cutting, to dedicate the new park improvements, Michael C. Riggs, representing Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation, spoke about the need for a balanced perspective when examining history.

Diane Forsythe and Annette Curtis unveiled the new marker.

           MMFF sponsored the event donating $500 that helped secure matching funds for the park and new millstone marker. Mike Riggs, with the help of MMFF Board members, crafted the interpretive statement that appears on the marker. The Moore Monument company provided its usual excellent service preparing and setting the new stone marker. All involved may rightly be proud of the results of this cooperative effort.

Though some have questioned if this is indeed the Haun’s Millstone, chips along the edge match those in George Edward Anderson’s 1907 photos of the stone at Shoal Creek. 

This relic of the old mill remained on the Haun’s Mill property from 1845 until 1914. Then, citizens of Breckenridge considered it of sufficient public and historic interest to recover it and place it in the city park. At first it simply lay loose by a wooden marker, until the mayor was offered sum of money for it. The prospective buyer found it was not for sale but remarked: "Someday in some way we will get that stone." Now the millstone is securely encased in concrete. -Breckenridge Bulletin, June 26, 1941. [The Latter Day Saints on the Missouri Frontier by Pearl Wilcox, page 338.]

            People familiar with the site of Haun's Mill are well aware that it is not a place humans can put something and expect it to stay put or to stay visible or accessible. Shoal Creek is famous for its powerful flow and frequent flooding.

Even the marker, placed at the main entry road to the property in 1941 by area resident Glen Setzer, had become covered with about three to four inches of sediment in recent years. Only the upright red granite stone gave away the location of the worded flat marker. The marker was uncovered and restored by caring area resident in 2001.