In 1803 John Work and his brother, Henry, moved west from Pennsylvania with their families to seek a better life. Henry died of a fever in 1804, and John cared for Henry's family as well as his own. He purchased a large tract of land in the southern part of the Indiana territory in what is now Clark County, and built a mill on 14 Mile Creek.
By 1814 the mill John had built was showing signs of wear, and the water level in 14 Mile Creek was too low during certain times of the year for the mill to operate. Some men would have merely gotten by, but John Work had a plan...