Ramsey County History – Fall 1974: “John Ayd’s Grist Mill and Reserve Township History”

John Ayd’s Grist Mill and Reserve Township History
Author: Donald Empson

Ayd Mill Road takes its name from John Ayd, a German immigrant, who bought 160 acres bounded by present-day Lexington, Victoria, St. Clair, and Randolph avenues in 1854. There in 1860 he built the only grist mill and mill house in Reserve Township. The mill operated using water from a stream originating near Randolph and Hamline. The property passed out of Ayd family hands in 1866. Another German immigrant, Charles Kramerath, operated the mill until his death in 1878. Soon afterward, the Short Line Railroad ceased operating the mill. The site was used thereafter as a resort, then a park was planned for the area, but neither plan worked out. The mill was demolished around 1890. The mill house lasted until 1966.
PDF of Empson article