CLIFTON, Ohio – The historic Clifton Mill has its share of history.
- One of the largest Christmas light displays in Ohio
- Recently featured on national television
- Clifton Mill features a miniature display of Ohio state vs. Michigan Football
The grist mill was built in the early 1800's to use the natural water for resources. It lies on a gorge in the small town of Clifton, home to around 150 people.
But its now annual light display attracts tens-of-thousands of visitors with “ohhs and ahhs” fitting of royal pageantry.
The light display started in 1987 by the Satariano Family with 100,000 lights. Now as the next general of Satariano's run the mill, it boasts more than 4-million. Lights cover nearly every inch of the property and features musical displays, a replica village, a Nativity scene, and Santa's Workshop.
As visitors enter the grounds they walk across a covered bridge. The bridge is adorned with thousands of lights that dance to music every 30 minutes. Millions of red and white lights line the gorge that have become recognizable over the years.
Recently, Clifton Mill's Christmas display has received national attention. It won $50,000 in an a contest on ABC's “Great Christmas Light Fight.” It's also been featured in several national publications, including USA Today.
The replica village features a miniature Clifton Mill and other landmarks around Clifton.
Santa's Workshop features the Santa's reindeer and Mr. Claus himself, who makes several appearances from the chimney.
A Santa Display pays tribute to Santa Clause through the decades. More than 3,000 toys and antiques dating back to the 1930's can be seen in a walk-through exhibit.
Inside the mill, visitors can get a close up view of the grist mill that is still operational today. People can also relax with snacks and warm drinks and buy items in the gift shop.
Lights outline every building on the property and a number of trees are full of color.
There's an even a display featuring Ohio State and Michigan football in the miniature village. A small television screen highlighting the rivalry, football players running around a field, even a moving miniature band scripting Ohio.
Clifton, after all, is the birthplace of legendary football coach Woody Hayes.
Setup of the light display begins in August with a team of about 8 people. Workers run single strands of lights around the property. Each year, Clifton Mill replaces about 3-million of its lights that suffer damage because of the outdoor elements. The display opens the day after Thanksgiving and ends on December 31. Then workers spend about three months taking down the lights. They do leave up lights on some of the rooftops year round.
Clifton Mill, 75 Water Street, is about 20 miles east of Dayton. The mill opens at 5 p.m. and the lights turn on at 6 p.m. The lights are turned off during the synchronized light show on the covered bridge and then turned back on afterwards, creating a spectacular simultaneous lighting for new visitors throughout the evening.
Admission is ten dollars.