Do you know about the old mill’s ‘colorful’ history in Utah?
SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — You’ve heard about the proposed plans look to demolish Utah’s iconic Old Mill — and it seems the building is closer to a fate of destruction.
ABC4’s Craig Wirth was at the mill decades ago and gathered pictures and advertisements back when it was a speak-easy nightclub … and also when it was actually an old mill.
LEARN MORE: Proposed plans look to demolish Utah’s ‘iconic’ Old Mill
“The irony of the old mill is that it was only a mill for a little over 10 years,” Wirth said. “The 140-year-old place has a far more colorful history as a club located way out of town.”
Back in the day, signs on the old mill told on-lookers the building was not safe and was illegal to enter. According to Wirth, the building has been condemned for years.
“A sad ending to the old mill,” he said.
In 1833, Deseret News put a scroll on the side of the building to proudly state it was its paper mill. The mill would turn out five tons of paper a day from rags and trees.
Much of the mill burned to the ground a short 10 years later and stayed like that for years. But with it being way out in the country — 11 miles from town — people decided the mill would make a great club. It just needed a bit of fixing up.
The club opened up and was successful. During prohibition, it was a place where you could get a little more than soda water, which just added to its popularity.
Folks danced into the 1950s. The sounds of laughter were unlike anywhere else in Salt Lake City.
They had the best orchestras and a lot of dreams, but it came to an end. Later, the mill became a special event center and a place for rock music.
A lot of the young people that would frequent the mill went off to war. Little by little, the mill wore out, and it became the ghost it is now.
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