William P. Day and son Horatio N. Day, who had come to Minnesota in 1849, built the Globe Mill on Minnehaha Creek in 1874. Ten acres on the west bank of the creek were purchased from Johnston Mealey on March 24, 1894 for $1,000. A two-acre tract on the east side was purchased from Calvin Goodrich for $150 and used for Day’s residence. The mill and pond were on a naturally occurring oxbow on the creek next to the Excelsior Road, but not where Excelsior crosses the Creek. The Creek itself was moved into a straight ditch at some point, and the old creed bed in the swamp on Excelsior Blvd. across from the golf course.
The frame structure had “four runs of stones and a capacity of 125 barrels a day.” When waterpower was not enough, a steam engine was used. A spur from the Minneapolis. and St. Louis Railroad served the mill. After several changes of ownership, in 1882 the entire site belonged to Peter Schussler. (Schussler was elected Justice of the Peace in 1886.) In about 1890 a bridge and dam further upstream reduced the water flow, and Schussler installed a steam engine for power. Finally, the dam built at Gray’s Bay in 1895 made all Creek mills infeasible. The mill was sold to Joseph Tyczynski through foreclosure in 1896 and dismantled in 1898.
