After Jake Rikard's death, the mill passed to his daughter Mary Rikard and her husband, Holly Middleton Forte. They ran the mill until their son, John Dennis Forte, began operating the business.
John taught school for many years in north Monroe County and was elected Monroe County superintendent of schools in 1900. By 1921, he had retired and was a full-time millwright at Rikard's Mill until his death in 1966. By then, he had passed the miller legacy to his son, Maurice Forte, who operated the mill alongside his father.
