City: Cincinnati, OH

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (937) 767-5501

Address: 75 Water Street

Description: Journey to the tiny village of Clifton anytime during the month of December and you’re sure to encounter the state’s largest private Christmas illumination. Indeed, how could you miss it?Clifton Mill, the largest operating gristmill in America, transforms its surrounding grounds and river gorge into a winter wonderland adorned in festive lights. Millions of lights. Legendary lights.The mill’s owner, Anthony Satariano, is certainly no dim bulb. After all, he’s managed to turn a mere flour mill, miles off any beaten track, into an immense tourist destination that attracts 75,000 visitors each holiday season to the rural hamlet of Clifton (population 165). It takes six industrious individuals more than three months to string the 3.2 million bulbs.You should plan to be there precisely at 6:00 p.m., when the lights are switched on in a single moment. To witness the mill, its 18-foot waterwheel, and the surrounding snow-covered acreage convert instantly from utter darkness into a magnificent array of light is a heart-pounding experience. The crowd of children actually utters a collective “whoosh.”Satariano also runs a virtual Santa Claus museum next to the mill, with more than 3,000 figures of St. Nick on display—all collected over a 30-year period. Many are mechanical and clockwork figures from long-shuttered Ohio depart-ment stores, which make for a nearly living, breathing North Pole experience. “Just like Clifton, Santa Claus is timeless,” observes Satariano.Outside amid the lights, model trains chug around handcrafted buildings, which are scale miniature replicas of landmark structures in the village, as well as a Ferris wheel, a 1950s used-car lot, and a drive-in movie theater that actually screens vintage film clips.In addition to the annual Yuletide extravaganza, there’s a year-round restaurant, the Millrace, and the inevitable gift shop where the biscuit and pancake mixes are available for procurement.Clifton Mill itself was built in 1802 and served as a critical supplier of flour and cornmeal for the Union army during the Civil War. One of the early owners of the mill, which sits on the Little Miami River, was John Patterson, a founder of Dayton’s giant National Cash Register (NCR) corporation.If you visit the mill in the spring or summer, you can take the $1 tour, which includes samples of the pancake mix produced there. The holiday display switches on every night from the day after Thanksgiving until December’s end (with the exception of Christmas Day). Hours are 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. Admission is $7 for anyone over the age of six, free to those six and under.