Trying to guess the origin of Gang Mills from its name isn't an easy task.

"I only imagined gangs of hoodlums running up and down the paths and I thought ' I wonder why they'd name something after that?” said Virginia Wright, Painted Post-Erwin Museum volunteer.

But the name is actually a literal reference to the area's history.

"Gang Mills came into being because of the lumber industry. They found all the hills in the adjacent area was full of virgin timber, there were several men who owned at least 4,000 acres of that timber and started this lumber business,” said Sheri Golder, President of Corning-Painted Post Historical Society.

And to make the milling process more efficient, they used "gang saws" to cut the wood.

"There were a series of four or five blades on these gang saws that were run by water power at the saw itself in order to cut the lumber more quickly,” said Golder.

Although the lumber industry in the area died out once all of the trees were cut down, its impact lives on as the area's name. However in Painted Post, a tribute to its namesake can still be found here in the Village Square.

"I think it was there before the settlers came and I think we'll never know why the Indians did it because they didn't have a recording language and I don't know that any of the tales of the painted post have come down through the generations. We had the story of John Montour, we had about the only other story is that it was the place where Indians would come together and have pow wows there,” said Wright.

Although the origin of the post isn't clear, it developed a significant purpose because of its location at the base of three rivers.

"People recognized it as a landmark. It became a very visible landmark in an area where people were going in four different directions, so it was a useful thing to have around and when you say ' Go down to the Painted Post', that was a good thing to do,” said Wright.

And now it's a great way to remember the village.

Since the initial discovery of the Painted Post, there has always been one on display in the Village.