Harbert Family Stories
The following are excerpts from Hackers Creek, Old Grist Mills of Harrison County by Dorothy Davis, p. 131.
The John Harbert Mill
John Harbert petitioned the county court, March 3, 1823, for permission to erect a mill on his land on the lefthand fork of Tenmile Creek. The permit was granted and he erected a dam and built a water saw and grist mill. A millrace was dug out which ran from the dam to the mill, as this was the usual way on smaller streams of water. At first, this mill was a simple, crude affair’ but there is an old tradition that, at the time it was erected, patrons came from far and near, and , looking on in amazement, wondered at this marvelous exhibition of man’s inventive genius, the like of which they had never seen. Compared with their mortars and hand graters, the water mill must have been a marvel to them, and they went home completely satisfied with the work done by the mill.
This mill was a great convenience to many people, and soon made for itself a good reputation. This was shown by the effort made to get the county court to establish roads to "John Harbert’s Mill." One of these efforts was made March 22, 1828, by Adam Hickman, who then owned and lived on the farm where ex-sheriff, Fitzhugh Reynolds, now resides in the fine old brick house, once the home of his grandfather, the late Benjamin S. Reynolds, near O’Neil on the old Northwestern Turnpike. Hickman filed his petition in the court, praying for the establishment of a road from his land on Limestone Creek to John Harbert’s mill, a distance of about three miles. There was some opposition to establishing this road, perhaps because it was a long one, or perhaps because it would take trade from some other mill. Hickman finally won and got his road so he could get to Harbert’s mill with his grist.
After Harbert had operated his mill for many years, he conveyed to his son, Benjamin F. Harbert, a tract of 131 acres of land, including the mill, by deed of February 1, 1851. The consideration named in the deed was one dollar, but Benjamin was to "suffer" his father and mother to remain on the land and use a part of it during their lives.
After Benjamin had operated the mill for sixteen years, he conveyed sixty-eight acres of land, including the mill to his son, Francis M. Harbert. May 11, 1867. About that time the mill was abandoned. Upon the death of Francis M. Harbert the site of the old mill became the opposite side of the road from where the mill stood, and only a short distance above the town of Sardis.
John Harbert was born on Jones’ Run, August 20, 1791, the son of Thomas Harbert, one of the very first settlers in this county. Because of the many Indian depredations, a "Block House" was built on Jones’ Run, and it was long known as "Harbert’s Block House." John Harbert became a rich man for that day, and was known to always have money – "a bag of gold money." He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and later appeared in the county court and made oath to his declaration for a pension. The Harbert family, descendants of Thomas and other Harberts of the early pioneer days, is now one of the largest in the county. Arlos J. Harbert, now serving his second term as Judge of the Criminal Court of this county, is a lineal descendant of John Harbert, the miller.
