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BRIGHAM CITY - Few signs of the 1870s Merrell Planing Mill remain. One city worker and a track hoe were there Thursday morning, cleaning up debris. The sight brought mixed emotions for some nearby neighbors.
"My kids cried when they came home from school to see it being torn down," Mindy Johnson said. She grew up in a home just across the street, which she still lives in today. "For 36 years, that's been my view coming home, and we're sad to see it go."
Still, Johnson and others admit the building that was severely damaged in a fire in 2008 also posed a safety concern.
"Kids would get in there and mess around. It wasn't good," Howard Sharp explained. "It's an old building that's been here for a long time. Kind of a good thing for Brigham City to have."
For several people who tried to preserve the building, along with the nearby Baron Woolen Mills, the decision from Brigham City leaders to demolish them both was frustrating.
"That history is lost," Jaren Davis said. "The community has lost an incredible asset and I would actually suggest that that's irreplaceable."
Davis is a part-owner of the two mills. He also sits on the board of a nonprofit group, called the Brigham City Mercantile and Manufacturing Association. The name is a nod to pioneer times, when people would barter and trade.
In recent years, the two mills were severely damaged by multiple fires. Baron Woolen Mills was torn down in July after the most recent blaze. Davis said city leaders put on pressure to either begin restoration work, or have it torn down. Workers started demolishing the remains earlier this week.
"We felt our time was limited," Davis explained. "Which is tremendously frustrating because we recently gained energy in finding new partners that have resources."
Davis said board members voted Thursday morning to donate the land to the city. Still, he said the experience has not soured his desire to preserve historical sites.
"It has actually increased my passion towards it," Davis said. "The fact that we've been through this devastation has not eliminated our interest in preservation."
