The western Washington County community of Dutch Mills was originally called Hermannsburg. It was founded by German immigrants led by brothers Johann and Karl Hermann, who came to the area from St. Louis, Missouri, in 1852. The German settlers established a flour mill, lumber mill, and woolen mill, and carried on a profitable trade with customers from nearby Indian Territory. The Civil War, however, spelled ruin for Hermannsburg. The settlement was situated on a route used by both armies as well as bushwhackers, putting the residents of Hermannsburg in constant danger. Pro-Union in their sympathies, the German families fled to Missouri after the Battle of Prairie Grove in December 1862.
Hermannsburg was renamed Dutch Mills after the Civil War.