Sassafras Mills

Sassafras Mills is a Tennessee historical marker in Hickory Valley, Hardeman County.

Hardeman Co, Corner of Church St. and Hwy 18 South, Hickory Valley, TN

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This is the boiler portion of the sassafras mill that operated in Hickory Valley. It took native sassafras roots and processed them into an aromatic oil used in medicine, perfume, and flavoring. A man with a mule regularly dug a ton of roots a day and was paid $14.00. One owner promoted the mill by paying his workers with bills dipped in the oil. In its final years of operation, the Hickory Valley sassafras mill was the only one in the United States.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1796 · Map of The Tennassee (sic) Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1835 · Chickasaw Cession, Mississippi (1835) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1848 · United States. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1862 · Johnson's Kentucky & Tennessee (1862) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1864 · Kentucky And Tennessee (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

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