Otter Tail County advances historic Phelps Mill Store restoration

Otter Tail County moved the historic Phelps Mill Store restoration from planning into the construction phase when sealed bids were opened June 2 in the Phelps Mill Room at the Government Services Center in Fergus Falls. For people who know the park as a summer stop along the Otter Tail River, the bid opening marked the next visible step in a project that has been building for years.

The store is part of one of the county’s best-known landmarks, and the work comes after a long run of preservation efforts at Phelps Mill County Park. Phelps Mill was completed in 1889 and served as a hub of economic activity for nearly 50 years before Otter Tail County bought the mill and surrounding recreational land in 1965. County planning materials say the park’s master plan was completed in April 2021 and calls for four phases of projects tied to recreation and education around grain milling and old-time ways of life.

The county’s bid notice said sealed bids were due by 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, and were publicly opened and read aloud for the Phelps Mill Store Historical Renovation. The county listed the opening at 1 p.m. in the Phelps Mill Room, 500 West Fir Avenue, a sign that the store project is now moving through the same public process as other county construction work.

That matters because the first phase already completed in 2025 changed how people use the park. Phase 1 added two ADA-compliant elevated boardwalks, a 30-acre prairie restoration, more than a mile of soft-surfaced walking trails, 11 primitive campsites and a 700-plus-foot paved access trail from the parking lot to the prairie area. Phase 2 is now underway and will bring ADA-compliant paved trails, parking lot reconstruction, a new amphitheater stage and seating area, a nature-scape playground and three new fishing pier stations near the historic mill.

Those changes are likely to affect more than preservation. They could alter how long visitors stay, what kinds of gatherings the park can host and how much traffic the site draws during the busy season. Reservations for Phelps Mill Park are available only until July 12 because of planned construction later in the year, another sign that the county expects active work on the ground.

Funding is in place to help carry that effort forward. Otter Tail County announced a $713,747 grant from the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission for improvements at Phelps Mill Park. The commission selected Phelps Mill Park and 11 other parks and trails for a combined $11,326,845 in Fiscal Year 2027 funding. County leaders have already shown they are willing to invest in phased restoration, after the historic mill building was restored in 2023 and an open house and ribbon cutting were held with Friends of Phelps Mill. With the store now entering renovation bidding, the landmark’s next chapter is taking shape piece by piece.