Brigham City dream unravels

BRIGHAM CITY — For 129 years it was the site of weaving and spinning wool into the warmth of blankets.

It was a weaver of dreams for Bob Sadler, who purchased the property 10 years ago with a goal to combine his business ambition with preserving history.

Now, the Baron Woolen Mills sits idle, with its windows shattered and the equipment silent, and all that is woven from this place is frustration for all who want to save it.

Sadler is forced to consider demolition of the mill, established in 1869 by Lorenzo Snow, then president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Snow ventured north to form the Brigham City Mercantile and Manufacturing Association, which was commonly known as the Brigham City Co-Op.

By 1877, the mill had 200 spindles and seven looms and was producing $42,000 worth of wool in 44 weeks.

It would later burn down, be rebuilt, burn again and rise once more to become the employer of the largest direct sales force in the United States in the early 1930s, managing the efforts of some 700 people.

But now, Baron is a quiet, mostly abandoned spot where photographers congregate, coming from as far away as New Zealand to record the stark images of antique equipment that fill the building with smells of lanolin and paraffin wax oil.

Sadler ceased major production in 1998, forced out by the prices of import blankets that can be sold for a few dollars.

He can't compete with that, even though the 1906 "spider wheel" carder could be up and running at any moment, along with rows and rows of intricate equipment that make this mill the only one of its kind west of the Mississippi — embracing the entire manufacturing process from bags of wool to finished product.

"My dilemma is twofold. I see the cultural, historical value of the building and the property it represents," Sadler said. "That is really what got me interested in it. I was a preservationist first and foremost, but I saw business opportunity there. As I look at it now, it still has this great historical potential to the community, but it is sitting idle."

Sadler's creditors want their money, but like everyone else in this story, they would prefer to see the mill standing, not something new in its place.

Wilson Martin, the state's historic preservation officer, was involved in two major efforts to save the mill, which does have a designation as a state historic site, a designation that still does not pay the bills.