Local author publishes book on mills in the Ozarks

Local author Barbara Baird has published her first book, “Milling Around: Exploring 26 Mills in the Missouri Ozarks.”
Baird has been a freelance writer for over two decades. After graduating college in December 1999, she worked as a substitute teacher.
“There were no teaching positions available,” she said. “So, I substitute taught, but couldn’t get the notion of writing out of my head.”
Baird started sending queries to publishers after consulting with other local writers. Eventually, she landed a column in a small town weekly newspaper.
“I wanted to call it ‘The Accidental Ozarkian,’” she said. Baird modeled the column on a character–a travel writer–in Anne Tyler’s 1985 novel “The Accidental Tourist.” The Accidental Ozarkian column ran for seven years, appearing in 10 publications, and in 2002, Baird was named one of Missouri’s most influential journalists by Governor Bob Holden.
Baird eventually worked as the managing editor of that newspaper, and it was there she honed her writing skills, which, she said, included covering local politics, school events, editing lunch menus and bowling scores, among other duties.
“I stopped writing the column to focus more attention on outdoor and travel magazines,” she said. She created the online publication Women’s Outdoor News, featuring women participating in outdoor activities like shooting, hunting, and fishing.
“The Accidental Ozarkian” last appeared in print in 2006, but is now a travel blog with 80, 266 readers and 2,194,312 page views (as of 2023).
“It features people and places in the Ozarks, as seen through my eyes, a woman from South Dakota,” Baird said. “A successful transplant.”
Through her travel-writing experiences, Baird collected material to become her first published book.
“Milling Around” had its beginning in Baird’s second-ever column.
“It was about a mill, Pay Down Mill, located between Belle and Vienna on Highway 42,” Baird said, adding that her blog analytics indicate a general interest in historical mills.
Baird perused various literature, the Internet, and even social media to locate accessible mills, each of which she’d been to at least once.
“Some of them,” Baird said, “I’ve been to several times in the past 20 years.”
She pointed out the historical importance of these mills and why it’s important to preserve them. It is said that at one point, the Missouri Ozarks had at least 850 mills.
“They became the centers of the universe for communities, where people would not only bring their grain and corn for sustenance, but they would also use the time spent on site for social purposes,” she said.
This passion for preservation and education resulted in “Milling Around,” which is self-published through Amazon. The final product is a full-color, glossy covered book with a cover designed by Baird’s daughter, Jackie Richardson. The book contains descriptions of Baird’s visits to each mill and photographs taken by Baird’s husband, Jason. His photos have been featured in national and local travel and outdoor publications. The book also provides illustrated maps and GPS coordinates provided by the Missouri Department of Transportation.
“Milling Around” is available now as an ebook and a paperback. It’s free if you have Kindle Unlimited, although Baird recommends the print version.
“It should be sturdy enough to keep in the car. Honestly, some of these places… you’ll not get any signals because they are that remote,” she said.
The book was named the Number One New Release in Central United States Travel Books on Amazon within two days. Baird hopes that her blog’s faithful readers will purchase a copy.
“I hope they will venture out and visit these historic sites and gain an appreciation for what life was like before bread aisles in stores.”