BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Work has started and is progressing. The Bellows Falls Historical Society is having Jancewicz Roofing construct a new roof to put on its museum, the historic Adam’s Grist Mill. The building once sat on the Bellows Falls Canal that powered its turbines. It dates from before Horace Adams acquired it in 1871 and was run by his family until milling ceased in 1965. In 1927, canal water was diverted to power the current hydroelectric plant. The milling machinery was then electrified, and the original electrical machinery remains as a part of the current display. When the Mill closed, the all-volunteer Historical Society was formed. They took over the building and have run it as a museum for showcasing parts of their collection ever since. Cathy Bergmann, current President of the Society, said there has been a 40 or 50-year history of “piecemeal fixes” to the roof. She said, “The community has been hit with a lot of historical buildings being demolished. [For us] it ran the gamut from anger to frustration, but now we are proud to bring to this community the restoration of the oldest building continuously run in Bellows Falls, if not also in Rockingham.” Frank Hawkins, current curator of the building and supervisor of the roof project, echoes Bergmann. He says he is, “Happy after all these years observing that building. I couldn’t believe how it was being ignored.”
After years of trying to raise the needed funds to save the building – including fundraisers such as the one held in the Bellows Falls Opera House a few years ago that featured underwater films of local diver Annette Spaulding’s findings in the nearby Connecticut river, which included mill stones, now on display near the Mill, and two old safes that the Society connected through old newspaper articles to thefts years ago, as well as a display at the Interstate 91 Welcome Center in Guilford – no efforts raised anywhere near what was needed for a new roof. Bergmann said, “We were fit to be tied.” Then the Society received funding for its restoration of the Mill from the Theresa Narkiewicz Schneider Foundation. Bergmann says the trust administrator was seeking projects he knew the founder would like to support, and this turned out to be a fit.
Hawkins says there are other projects to be worked on, such as drainage and brick re-pointing, and Bergmann mentioned a handicap ramp that will open up additional funding opportunities. Hawkins, himself a sign painter, has painted them a new sign, and has worked to improve the display of their exhibits inside.
The Mill sits on Mill Street and enters the south end of the Bellows Falls Square next to the building now housing the Flat Iron Café. Bergmann says she wished the Mill were “more visible” to the community. “A lot of people don’t even know it’s there,” she says. Despite that, Hawkins says they have had had a lot of visitors over the past year or so and he sees a bright future for the building in its role of preserving the history of the community. The Mill will re-open for its season after Memorial Day. It is generally open on weekends, and tours can be booked by appointment. As always, docents are sought and welcome to be trained. Information is available through the society’s Facebook page, or on www.bellowsfallshisoricalsociety.org.