Independence mill transformed into teaching tool

Heavy timber carpenters from around the country - here to learn more about their craft while making repairs to this town's central landmark - are favorably impressed with the Wapsipinicon Mill.

“It's an exceptional building,” said Rick Collins, whose company, Trillium Dell Timberworks of Knoxville, Ill., is sponsoring a weeklong workshop for the Timber Framers Guild at the six-story, 137-year-old mill.

“It's a beauty,” said Curtis Milton of Jackson, N.H., chairman of apprentice training for the guild, which has 16 carpenters here for the workshop.

But it's not just a training exercise, according to Wanda Goins, vice president of the Buchanan County Historical Society, which owns the mill and operates it as a museum. (story continues below gallery)

[nggallery id=923]“They are actually doing a lot of important and much-needed work, and we are able to get a break on the cost because many of the carpenters are volunteering their time for the chance to learn more about timber framing,” Goins said.

“We love old buildings like this. We have a passion for this kind of work, which is why some of us are here doing it on our vacations,” said Tom Haanen of Tulsa, Okla., a structural engineer who is making a detailed drawing of the mill this week.

Collins said the mill is exceptional for its height and its relatively solid condition but even more so for the quality of its materials and the craftsmanship that went into its construction.

“Clearly it was built by skilled and well trained tradesmen,” Collins said.

The guild, he said, endeavors to train people to be better heavy timber carpenters, and “this mill is a great teaching tool,” he said.

Collins said he hopes the guild's selection of the mill as a training site will call attention to its unique qualities and its historical significance.

“It's important for people to understand what a treasure they have in this building,” he said.

The brick-encased 102-foot-tall structure, with its hand-hewn timber frame and mortise and tenon joints, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

While the historical society continues to raise money for a $450,000 roof replacement project, the timber framers are setting the stage by replacing sections of rotted plates made from foot-square northern pine beams, as well as some of the rafters that have deteriorated because of the leaky roof.

Some of the upper story work is being done on scaffolding anchored to the inside of the building and from a worker lift with a reach of 135 feet.

“The rock-solid scaffolding takes all the worry out of working five stories above the river,” Milton said.

Working safely at great heights is an important component of the week's training, he said.

The workers wear 20-pound safety harnesses while on the job, and a rescue boat floats at the ready along the east side of the mill, said Milton, who noted that a morning safety meeting precedes each day's work.

The carpenters, who typically put in 12-hour days, are staying at a Hazleton campground. Their noon and evening meals, as well as snacks during breaks, are provided by local residents, restaurants and caterers, according to Historical Society President Leanne Harrison.