Old Mill Site
From the central Plaza in Ashland, walk into the park on the footpath that leads to the lower duck pond (it is the paved path to the right of the steps that lead up to the Shakespearean Theaters). The bench is on the left shortly after the path enters the park. The Women’s Club plaque is on the opposite side of the path, mounted on a low stone. The plaque to the founders of Lithia Park is on a stone to the right as you enter the path.
According to Wikipedia, the site of this stone bench marks the location of the old flour mill established by Abel Helman and Eber Emery in 1852. This was the first building in Ashland, which was then known as Ashland Mills. The inscription on the bench dedicates it to the memory of Jacob Wagner, who was also a local pioneer of the same year.
Across the path is a plaque mounted on a stone that recognizes the women of the Chautauqua Club and the Women's Civic Improvement Club who were instrumental in founding Lithia Park in 1908. As you enter the park there is a plaque on a stone to the right, commemorating the founders of Lithia Park.
