During the 1880's, local Sam Johnson, organized the Farmers Alliance in Buda . In 1890, a committee of these Alliance members (RC Barton, DC Burleson, WE Nelson, WW Andrews, Joe Biles, and MS Ward) founded the first cotton gin (which later burnt down) to provide Buda with a mill and mercantile store. In 1911, the business was sold to Henry Barton and Will Barber for $7,000. One story tells, that In 1911, they built the Buda Go-op Gin at the extreme south end of Buda. They also built the first brick gin, constructed in 1914, on the Buda Mill & Grain Co.'s property and called it the Buda Gin Company, according to another source. It lasted into the late 1930's until the fall of cotton prices.

With the demise of the local cotton crop, Mr. Barton sold the property to his brother-in-law, Mr. B Watson in 1929 and changed the name to the Buda Milling Company. He began to ground dairy feed for himself and his neighbors as well. As business increased, additional equipment and grain elevators were added. The Watson family continued operations until selling the Mill to today's current owner's father, Cecil Ruby in 1963. Ruby used the mill, in the early years of ownership, to store grain for the US government. Once Gay Dahlstrom and her brother Jim Ruby inherited the Mill property in the 1990's, the buildings were leased out individually to local hobbyist until the start of the renovation in 2011.

We've found photographs of the Mill from the 1980's, but would love it if anyone has pictures of it from before. It seems that everyone we talk with in Buda has some memory of either working at the Mill, cleaning out one of the silos in the summer or buying feed from the feed store and we would love to hear more about those memories.

North Entrance into the Brick building which we plan to lease for a restaurant in the future.