THE OLD MILL

This is The Old Mill in North Little Rock, officially known as "Pugh's Mill Park." It's not an actual old mill, but a life-sized sculpture by Dionysio Rodrigues, built and landscaped in 1933 as a replica of the real Pugh's Mill which actually milled actual grain a century earlier. It's a really beautiful garden spot, a popular place for locals to get wedding pictures taken.

Of historical interest at the old mill are some 19th century millstones and a couple of mile marker stones from a road near Dardanelle. These stones were set in place by an army engineer named Jefferson Davis, who later became the president of the Confederacy. The stones were used to mark the way for native tribes being relocated to western lands, thus marking two miles worth of the "Trail of Tears."

I've been told all my life that The Old Mill appeared in "Gone With the Wind." Now if you're born in these parts, you are subjected all your life to one stretcher after another. BS is the national sport of Arkansas, along with "Taking Mister Big Shot Down a Peg." Simply put, I never believed the "Gone With the Wind" story, particularly not after Santa Clause-gate.

But guess what! Fiddle-de-dee, there it is! I went down to my local video store and found just what I was looking for. It's right there in the opening credits, onscreen less than five seconds, but there it is! (Every now and then I discover that somebody has told me the truth about something and I get really excited about it.) The first thing I notice is that sixty-five years ago this used to be a country park. Now it's in the middle of town. All the extra foliage helps to screen out road noise and the view of the surrounding houses.

I understand that I'm allowed to appropriate this classic frame of film from Mr. Turner's library for purposes of parody or criticism. Okay, I give GWTW a thumbs up.

RTJ--10/30/97

UPDATE

I got a note from Audrey Burtrum-Stanley concerning the Old Mill. Here it is.

Russell..

I hope you will make a few corrections as I just visited your ARK.Trav. page for a few moments just now. Although I don't know the proper spelling of the name of the fellow who did the artistic work at the T.R. Pugh Memorial Park (i.e.: 'THE OLD MILL'), you have his first name spelled WRONG. Can you call the publ. lib. in NLR and ask for INFORMATION and get them to tell you.

(DUH--don't know the answer but know yours is wrong..hahaha Sorry I sound so goofy!)

Also...more info that you wanted...the opening credits for GWTW shows the NLR park for "8 seconds"...you say for less than "5 seconds". I KNOW THIS...I went to Audstin, Tex. and went through Selznick's files.

The two names (that are supered in the film over the bldg) are of remarkable men. The top name...Wm. C. Menzies was presented a SPECIAL OSCAR for his work on this production. (An example is the use of 3 pieces of film to produce one composite image...remember when Scarlet and Gerald O'Hara (her Pa) were standing under the bough of a tree, and in the distance ws TARA...and beyond was a brilliant sunset. That was done with 3 pieces of film...the 1st. real life...second was a matte painting...and the later was animation...put together one on top of the other made the sight you saw on screen.

The last man..JACK COSGROVE...was an artist of great renown, both for his talent and his drinking. He was known to drunkenly weave about from the top of giant ladders while painting intricate and life-like backdrops. He must have been... well, amazing and a rather tedious character....

Regards, Audrey

RTJ--8/22/99


In the neighborhood: The Little Rock


Arkansas Travelogue home page