In 1797, George Frederick Bollinger received a land grant in Upper Louisiana from the Spanish Government and moved with several other families from North Carolina to what is now Burfordville, Missouri.

After Bollinger's death in 1842, his daughter Sarah Daugherty and her sons continued to operate the mill until the Civil War, when the mill was burned by the Union army in order to prevent the supply of flour and meal to the Confederate army.

The current four-story brick mill was completed by Burford in 1867 and is built upon the limestone foundation of the 1825 building.

The mill was donated to the Cape Girardeau County Historical Society in 1961 and to the State of Missouri in 1967.

The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, one year before it was restored by the park service, at which time the metal roof was replaced with wooden shingles.

The mill hosts special events during the year including folk music concerts and a display of restored farming equipment.