Lindsborg Old Mill and Swedish Heritage Museum
The 1898 Smoky Valley Roller Mills is the only historic flour mill of its kind in the Midwest that can still operate, and there’s exactly one day every year that it roars back to life for visitors to experience.
This year, that is Saturday, May 3, during the annual Millfest celebration at the Lindsborg Old Mill and Swedish Heritage Museum in Lindsborg, Kan.
The main attraction is four stories of beautiful machinery in the 127-year-old mill dramatically reawakening into motion. Guided tours are available of this mechanical work of art in wood, steel and leather throughout the day
Adam Pracht, Marketing and Communications Director, said he loves the diverse sensory experience every Millfest.
“It really is an unforgettable opportunity to see history in action and up close,” Pracht said. “The floors shake and rumble, you hear the rattle of gears and belts, and you can even smell the old wheat dust and oil on the air. I feel like I have time traveled to a moment out of the 19th century walking through these floors during Millfest.”
Tours run 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and cost $10 per person during Millfest, but all other museum attractions will be available by-donation. For safety reasons, tours are restricted to those 13 years old or older; but when the mill shuts down for the day at 4:45 p.m. it will be available to families with children ages 12 and younger to take a free mill tour.
For Aubrey Wheeler, Executive Director, this will be her first Millfest since she started in the chief position in August 2025. She said she is most excited for the Millfest activities and attractions beyond the Old Mill tours.
“I’ve heard so much about the Millfest, I can’t wait to see it all first-hand,” Wheeler said. “I especially am going to enjoy the front-porch music performances and interacting with baby goats!”
Music entertainment will be available on the museum front porch starting at 10 a.m. and running through 3:30 p.m. Local group the Front Porch Pickers will take the porch stage at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., while Lindsborg musician Nile Johnson returns after a hiatus in 2024 to perform at noon.
Then at 2 p.m. - new to Millfest - the Randy Baldwin Band from Salina will perform original songs and covers from the ’70s through the ’90s.
Guests can enjoy other museum activities throughout the day included in the “by-donation” admission. New this year, Millfest will include an antique tractor show sponsored by the International Harvester Collector Club (Kansas Chapter 3), and beautiful (FREE!) face painting from “Just Face It” out of Wichita from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
In the historic one-room schoolhouse, guests can decorate their own Dala Horse – a traditional Swedish symbol and the most notable symbol of Lindsborg – as long as supplies last. Traditional stick-and-hoop races and Kubb – a popular Swedish lawn game – will be on the common area lawn of Heritage Square.
When guests want to participate themselves in the celebration, they can join Lindsborg Folksdanslag at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on the Heritage Square green maypole (or, if the day is toasty – wherever on the square there’s some quality shade.) Join the group in traditional Swedish dance, or just sit back to watch and enjoy.
A quilt show from the McPherson Quilt Guild will be among the day’s free demonstrations, as well as vendors with handmade items for sale. Watch real blacksmithing in action, talk with representatives of The Land Institute about perennial grains and agriculture, purchase a wide variety of original artwork, see hand woodcarving from Salina Woodcarvers, and more!
When it’s time for lunch, guests can purchase burgers, street tacos and sandwiches from Paradise Eats on the main museum lawn. Several vendors will be providing more snack-like food fare, including kettle corn, baked goods, and snow cones. The museum gift shop also includes a variety of snacks, toys, books, and limited-edition collectibles to remember an unforgettable day.
Also, just off the gift shop, guests can bid on some exciting silent auction items to help support the museum’s mission – everything from artwork to gift cards (Smoky Valley Winery and Trollslända Toy Store) to baked goods to a Lenovo computer tablet! Bidding will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Finally, Millfest will also be the official opening weekend for a new temporary mini-exhibition in the main gallery of the museum. “Midwest on Ice: Fossils from the Pleistocene Prairie” includes two display cases with fossils from the “Ice Age” Pleistocene Epoch of 2.6 million years ago. The sample fossil specimens will be accompanied by fascinating information on American Midwest megafauna including the woolly mammoth, American mastodon, and ancient camel.
Lenora Lynam, Collections Manager, has helped organize and lead Millfest for decades, and said it is a rare and engaging experience. At one point, there were more than 400 small community flour mills operating in Kansas alone; today the Smoky Valley Roller Mill is the last one standing and running.
“It is always a lot of work,” she said, “But it’s all worth it to see the community come out to support local Smoky Valley history and experience the past firsthand from more than 125 years ago.”
Significant sponsorship for Millfest has been provided by:
· Grain Craft – McPherson, Kansas
· Kansas Wheat – Manhattan, Kansas
· Radio Kansas – Hutchinson, Kansas
· CKA Consulting – Topeka, Kansas
· TACOL Thrift Shop – Lindsborg, Kansas
· Ardent Mills – Denver, Colorado
· Bank of Tescott – Lindsborg, Kansas
· CHS Refinery – McPherson, Kansas
· Dauer Welding and Machine – Lindsborg, Kansas
· Farmers State Bank – Lindsborg, Kansas
· Pestinger Heating and AC – Lindsborg, Kansas
· Plumer Landscaping and Lindsborg Greenhouse – Lindsborg, Kansas
· An anonymous donor
The museum thanks these businesses and organizations for their generosity and support of local history!
Millfest 2025
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday, May 3 Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum 120 E. Mill St., Lindsborg
$10 / person tours of the Old Mill in operation (ages 13+). Admission by donation to all other museum attractions.
Food available for purchase on museum grounds from Paradise Eats (burgers, street tacos, and sandwiches) as well as snack treats from Pop’s Kettle Corn, Lyn’s Bakery and Kona Ice.
Confirmed arts and crafts vendors and demonstrators:
· Alpaca fiber “make and take” craft by Jennifer Ebling
· Art Prints by Acacia Pracht
· Basketweaving by Janie Tubbs
· Blacksmithing by Josh Womelsdorf
· Crocheted Animals by Eddie Mckoy
· Goat Milk Soap & Lotion by Wind River Farms (Angela Price)
· Greenwood Spoon & Bowl Carving by Jerry & Ruperta Hammerton
· Jewelry, Leather, and Etc. by Sylvia Cotacachi
· The Land Institute
· Origami Models and Jewelry by Eian Pracht
· Scentsy Fragrances by Jeanie Murphy
· Quilt Show by McPherson Quilt Guild
The Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum