Fall colors in Benzonia MI. Mills Community House with Crystal Lake in background. Photo by Elija Fly Photography

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About Us

Mills Community House Association
891 Michigan Avenue, PO Box 421, Benzonia, MI 49616 
231-882-0591  or [email protected] 

The Mills Community House is located in the heart of Benzonia, on U.S.-31 and just up the hill from Crystal Lake and the village of Beulah. The distinctive red brick building,  built in 1909 as a dormitory for Benzonia Academy, became the Mills Community House in 1925, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been used as a public venue throughout its history; a gymnasium, meeting location, site for educational and cultural programs, and home to the Benzonia Public Library.
The Mills House was deeded from the Congregational Church of Benzonia to the Mills Community House Association, a newly formed 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization, in 2002. The board of directors is made up of community supporters who believe in the value of this historic landmark. Our mission is to provide stewardship and promotion of the historic Mills Community House as a venue for events and services that enrich lives.

Several organizations have used the Mills Community House facility to present public programs, concerts, theater, lectures, and educational activities. The Benzonia Public Library has been the middle floor tenant of the building since 1925. They also regularly utilize the other levels for their book and puzzle sales, craft classes, author programs,  and holiday party. 100+ Women Who Care-Benzie meets quarterly to determine which Benzie County non-profit will receive their support. The Benzie Area Historical Society regularly presents programs in the upper hall. The Benzie County Players, a community theater organization, has used this venue for many of their plays and theatrical readings.  The Benzie County Community Chorus has also performed numerous summer concerts in this wonderful acoustic performance space. Is it any wonder why "Community" is our middle name?

Our mission is to provide
stewardship and promotion of the
historic Mills Community House
as a venue for events and services
that enrich lives.

Mills Community House Association
Board of Directors volunteer their time
to ensure the Mills continues
to be a vibrant part of our community.
 
Donna Brown, Ruth Catton, Jimmy McLaren, ​
​Jane Sullivan, Matt Varnum, and Samantha Wolfe.

Kristin Fleetwood, Executive Director

Providing a venue for arts, cultural, and educational opportunities and experience in Benzie County, events and activities booked at the Mills help support and maintain this lovely historic structure.

Land Acknowledgement
​Benzie county occupies the ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of Anishinabek people. The Mills Community house recognizes the Anishinabek of the Three Fires Confederacy, the Odawa (Ottawa), Ojibwa (Chippewa), and Bode'wadmi (Potawatomi); historic Indigenous communities in Michigan; and those who were forcibly removed from their homelands. Benzie County occupies land ceded in the treaty of 1855. We give thanks to the Anishinabek as the caretakers of the Earth and for their relationship to the land.