Also inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the historic Mingus Mill. The site is actually a half mile north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. The structure was built in 1886 and was used for grounding corn into meal and wheat into flour.

The Mingus Mill was named after the Mingus Creek, which was located near the community where the meal was located. The people of the area used the mill for more than fifty years. It was powered by a wooden water mill, originally, but the park has already replaced it with a steel turbine for powering its stones and machinery.

The Mingus Mill was rehabilitated and restored in 1968. It is actually an working mill, and is operated during the summer months as a historical exhibit.