Gays Mills is a village in Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States.

Gay, a native of Indiana, built a dam and a sawmill on the Kickapoo River, which proved to be a flourishing success.

When his health started to fail, James convinced his brothers John and Thomas to move to the area.

In the years between 1848 and 1865, many families moved into the community, which came to be known as Gays Mills in honor of the founder and his brothers.

One of the Twinings took his apples to the World's Fair, where they were a great success, generating mild fame for Gays Mills.

Consequently, apples are grown heavily in Crawford County, with numerous commercial orchards surrounding the village.

[6] In 2008, a meeting was held to discuss moving the village to higher ground because of repeated flooding, which damaged the local economy.

[7] In October 2008, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released a 72-page report asking residents and businesses to relocate from the Kickapoo River flood plain.

[6] Relocation is estimated to cost $1.7 million to purchase 30 acres (120,000 m2) 1-mile (1.6 km) north of the existing location.

[6] In March 2010, a grant of $4.31 million was awarded by the Economic Development Administration to the Village of Gays Mills and the Redevelopment Authority of Gays Mills to develop a strategy for relocating the Village’s commercial district outside of the floodplain.