As much material as possible is being saved from the former Maine Dowel Mill.
FARMINGTON – An aging landmark, fallen from glory due to years of deterioration and a fire that sealed its fate, is being dismantled piece-by-piece and sold for its salvage value.
On Friday, three salvage-crew members were working on a back section of the former Maine Dowel Mill, most recently known as Franklin Millworks, on Route 4 in Farmington.
Several years ago, a fire destroyed the second floor of the mill.
Now the mill, north of downtown and south of the Franklin County Sheriff Office, is being torn down to make way for a Mill Pond Business Park where owners Buzz Davis and Bill Marceau, both of Farmington, propose building a restaurant, two retail businesses, an assisted living center and offices.
Jay Mercier of Madison removed metal from the fascia boards from one side of the back portion of the mill, while Chris Merry of Norridgewock and job foreman Ken Orr of south China worked on the flat roof. Merry pushed a shovel over the top, stirring up dust as he removed the final layer of dirt mixed with small stones and tar that made up the gravel style roof.
The men sweated as they worked under the hot sun, black dust smearing their faces and clothing.
Mercier said he expects the dismantling to take six to eight weeks.
Since starting the job July 21, they’ve already removed sheet metal from a large shed on the property, leaving just the framed, wood structure.
The dust bins and hoppers that have been visible over the treetops are expected to come down in about three weeks, Orr said.
They also plan to remove 60,000 or so bricks that make up thick walls on the 20,000-square-foot mill building around the fifth week.
Half of the bricks are already spoken for, but as many as possible will be salvaged for resale, Mercier said.
There also is a lot of steel, he said, which will be resold, including 114 steel I-beams. And about 50,000 square feet of lumber and 2,000 square feet of metal roofing. Long nine-pane windows with three three-panes above will also be salvaged if possible, Orr said.
They expect to be removing 60 tons of scrap metal a week, Mercier said.
There are also miles of pipe and valves in the old structure, many of it rusty from age. Three-inch-thick, tongue-and-groove southern yellow pine flooring will be sold.
Standing on the roof of one building, one can look in and see the thick wood planking, some of the second-floor wood charred from the fire
All that remains from an elevator shaft is a charred frame.
On the roof of the wood drying building, wooden frames over the vents sticking up through the roof resemble a shanty village overlooking the Fairbanks section of Farmington.
The crew hopes to be done with the deconstruction by mid-September, Orr said.
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