Hamilton Feed Mill in Dublin

By Frank Chamberlain

The large feed mill at Dublin was one of the longest-lasting structures in town, standing for almost one hundred years. It stood as a sentinel on the south end of town throughout a century of development in the community. Over the years, it housed three different operations, most notably the Walter Hamilton Company that utilized the building for over thirty years [Dublin Citizen 11/24/94].

The mill was first built in 1885 by the Weiser family, and was then known as the “Dublin Roller Mill.” During this time, the plant functioned primarily as a flour mill. T.F. Weiser purchased the factory from other family members in 1907. It remained under his supervision until 1927 when the A.P Ward family bought the mill and changed the name to “Dublin Mills Inc.” This family owned the mill for twenty years before selling the business to L.D. Maud. He only kept the mill for one year, selling out to local grocery merchant Walter Hamilton in 1948. Two years later, his nephew, Paul Hamilton became part owner and chief operations officer of the company. Paul used his experience in engineering to convert the flour mill into a dairy feed and seed mixing plant. He became the majority owner in 1960 and assumed full ownership in 1970. At this point, he changed the name of the company to the “Paul Hamilton Company.” This business lasted until 1982, when economic considerations forced Hamilton to close his company. The mill stood vacant for over ten years before Hamilton decided to tear it down due to frequent vandalism that made it impossible to fix things as quickly as they were being broken. He decided against completely razing the structure outright, opting instead to salvage and sell the mill equipment and other pieces of the building. Many Dublin residents were able to purchase pieces of the factory to serve as souvenirs of this historic building [Dublin Citizen 11/24/1994; Westphal 256].

“Historical Mill Drawing Its Final Breath”, The Dublin Citizen, November 24, 1994.

Westphal, Dorothy V. Dunn. Covered Wagons Keep On Rollin’/ hand printed & compiled from the pen of Dorothy V. Dunn Westphal; the history of Dublin, Texas, 1995.