THE FUTURE OF THE ROLLER MILL

We are the Utley Family.  We purchased the Fairview Roller Mill in early June of 2016 with the intent of turning the Old Mill into our Forever Home here in Fairview Utah!  We want to thank Katie Shell… the previous owner, for all the love and time she showed to the Old Mill.

As most people know, the old Roller-Mill was falling down and in need of some love! When we saw the old girl we fell in love with her... (Yes... She's a girl) and we had to buy Her to bring her backed to her original glory or at least give her a face lift!

One of the first things we did at the mill was to certify the 50,000 pound scales which are now opened to the public for free. We look forward to anyone in the community coming and using them.  If you drive by the Mill today, you'll see the huge holes that were in the roof are now gone! The Mill is now covered with beautiful galvanized steel roofing!  She is now weather tight and has new Bling as well!

We have been at the mill now for 4 months and life has been crazy! It took us 30 days to just shovel out all the garbage, mice crap, cat crap, and bird crap!  There is a tunnel that goes 30 feet under the silos, it was filled with 24 inches of mice crap, dead cats, dead racoons, and who knows what other kinds of death mingled with grain were still there.
During the first 30 days we also installed new sewage and water line Thanks to Branch Cox (MJK Construction) who fitted us into their busy schedule.
We have cleaned and cleaned and cleand so many times you would think by now the Mill would be clean... No such luck... so we are still cleaning.  The list of things that we have done up to this point is probably too long and boring for you to read. Go to the Link below and you can see all the pictures for yourself.

We have loved all the people that have visited us and told us their stories about how they, or their fathers and grandfathers, had worked at the Mill and how much it means to them that the Mill will not be taken down and more importantly, that the Mill will be saved!

We have also started a Go Fund Me account for those able and intrested in helping us Save The Mill!
www.gofundme.com/rollermill

Come follow us on our journey as we turn the Old Mill into our Forever Home!

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0eJtdOXmuGchSO

You can also visit us on FaceBook at:

https://www.facebook.com/FairviewMill

What is happening with the Fairview Mill?

The Fairview Mill has been up for sale or open for partnerships for a few years now. We have never marketed it but it looks as though the mill may now have preservation-minded buyers. If the sale goes through, we hope these buyers will have a lot of  support and appreciation from the community as they work to make Fairview their home and as they work to preserve one of Sanpete's most iconic and historic structures. 

It was unexpected and kinda crazy for us to become the "owners" of the Fairview Mill about 4 years ago.  We just couldn't stand to see it dismantled for timber and neither could the former owners. (Learn more about the mill on our History Page.)  Photographers, artists, locals and tourists gather to the rustic and weathered mill, considered one of Sanpete's most picturesque industrial buildings.   

The mill was listed by the former owners (in March of 2012) for sale on KSL.com.  Offers came only to purchase the building for the profit that could be made in the salvage of it's massive timbers and weathered wood.

The former owners wanted to see the historic mill preserved and so continued their 20+ year stewardship of the local treasure by selling to us - because they knew we felt the same way and wanted to give the mill a second life. 

Architect and historian Allen Roberts, who has a great love for Sanpete and historic mills, offered to loan down payment money (at no interest) for a year.  Currently president of CRSA, Mr. Roberts has done extensive work in historic preservation; over 200 of his projects are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Mr. Roberts provided the drawings of the current floor plan of the mill shown on this blog.  Our hope was to make the mill ready for a variety of occupants -  businesses qualifying as "light commercial" - seeking approval from Fairview City and neighbors for these light commercial uses and working to prepare the mill for it's new life as funding and help came along.  

Owning a store in Fairview, needing to close that store and other obligations has made it impossible for us to raise funds for the mill so we have tried to make it safer and have done some work here and there as we could.

We are sad to sell and will be taking a big loss on the sale of the mill so the new owners will have a chance to succeed in their renovation plans. We will let you know more if the sale becomes final.

We especially thank David and Lorraine Larsen for their help and support over the years.  

Phil and Katie Shell
April 29, 2016