WEST PARIS – Bill and Karen Birney have been resuscitating a town landmark vacant for more than two years.
The Birneys purchased the Penley Mill on Penley Avenue last October and are converting it into a gargantuan storage center called Old Mill Storage.
A large section has been open for business since October. It consists of 20,000 square feet of bulk storage space for large items such as cars, snowmobiles and boats, in the area that formerly functioned as a lumber mill. Old Mill Storage has attracted more than 25 customers since it opened, Bill Birney said, but he foresees much busier days to come.
“We struggled along getting through the winter,” he said.
The Birneys also have plans to open an additional 28,000 square feet of space on three floors where the mill’s assembly, shipping and bagging processes occurred. Bill Birney said that space would eventually be utilized for self-storage and antique storage.
“The hardwood floors are perfect for storing antiques” because of their resistance to condensation, he said.
The mill was the site of clothespin manufacturing beginning in 1923, and was the town’s largest single employer when it closed in December 2002, according to Penley Corp. President Richard Penley, who sold the mill to the Birneys.
“All of our clothespins are currently coming out of China,” he said.
Karen Birney said that the Growth Council of Oxford Hills has been helpful since October “in terms of spreading the word that we’re open.” In fact, Old Mill Storage was honored last week as a new local business at a dinner celebrating the 10th anniversary of Enterprise Maine, the umbrella organization that includes the growth council and four other groups whose mission is attracting business and development to Oxford Hills.
But the couple are not driven entirely by a profit-making ethos. Born and raised in Oxford Hills, they said they feel a deep sense of attachment to the region’s history and identity.
Bill Birney said he plans to establish in one corner of Old Mill Storage a “little museum” showcasing some of the curious manufacturing artifacts he found strewn about the building after he purchased it.
“If nothing else, we’ll maintain the building and keep it as a landmark,” he said, adding with pride, “I grew up here. I saw it all the time.”
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