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                                                 Broylesville 
                  &
Picture
Photo of Arborist crew at work 
2016 by CAB.    


    A few THANK YOU's!

    GWEN LILLY
    Gwen Lilly, our very knowledeable and hard working Century 21 Legacy realtor was a 
    blessing.  We cannot recommend her enough.  She was very patient as we asked endless 
    questions (some pretty obscure) and spent long periods of time viewing the mill.   

     JASON LAWS
     We are grateful for our neighbor, Jason Laws.  He welcomed us to the community,
     introduced us to everyone and helped us countless times.  THANK YOU, Jason.  You have 
     no idea how much you are appreciated!

    OFF & RUNNING
     Escrow closed on 11 April 2016 and we began the process of cleaning up the interior and 
     exterior of the property that day.   Care was taken not to discard anything that could have 
     been part of the mill.  
 
     THE ARBORIST & THE CREW
     We contacted Bartlett Tree Experts and hired Chad Giebner, who has an A.S. in Forestry
     Forestry Technology, B.S. in Urban Forestry and is an ISA Certified Arborist and a TCIA
     Certified Treecare Safety Professional.  He identified all the trees on the property:  Black 
     Walnut, Black Cherry, sycamore, maple, American Elm, Slippery Elm, native willow, 
     boxelder, Eastern Red Oak,  hackberry, honey locust, ash and evergreens.  

     Recommendations were made concerning trees that posed a threat to either people, 
     the mill, power lines or the road.  Four days later the crew arrived and all the dead or 
     diseased trees were removed and  others were pruned back.  While we hated cutting
     down any trees, even the dead ones, an  unexpected bonus was we now have two perfect
     little creekside stumps for sitting.
 
     FOUNDATION SPECIALISTS
     The mill suffered significant flooding and damage in August 2000.  It  required rebuilding 
     part of the limestone foundation.  At that time additional support piers were added on 
     the creek side.  During our "home inspection"  it was suggested that a foundation 
     engineer do a further evaluation.   It was more complicated than it seemed and 
     resulted in three visits.   With the help of two engineers, it was determined that the 
     existing foundation on the creek side was sufficient.  It was suggested, however, that 
     additional support could be added to the road side.  It's on our to-do list.

​     MILL EXPERT
     We contacted mill expert, John Lovett.  He and his wife are the owners of Falls Mill, 
     Belvidere, Tennessee since 1984.  He has a PhD in Industrial Engineering.  He taught 
     at the university level and does consulting in engineering and millwrighting.  He is a 
     long time member of the Society for the Preservation of Old Mills SPOOM where he 
     serves as one of their Directors, is on the Technical Committee, is the Miller Training 
     Coordinator and instructor.

Mr. Lovett made an over-night on-site visit to identify all the existing mill pieces.  He had quite a task.  Some pieces were in their original location, some were missing and some had been removed and lay stacked against the wall, the floor or tossed outside.  He  determined what was missing and where pieces were originally positioned.  Mr. Lovett walked us 
through how our mill most likely operated and the different "updates" it received.  We were excited to learn our mill had two mill stones and later, three roller mills and where everything sat.  From this consultation we were able to determine that the proposed foundation work and additional structural elements would not constitute any barriers to reconstructing the mill as a visual replicate or working mill.   We talked about possible ways to do this in light of different modifications that have been made to the mill.
 
SPOOM CONFERENCE
Eager to learn all we can, we became members of the Society for the Preservation of Old Mills (SPOOM) and then attended the the 2016 Conference from October 20-23 in Dayton, Ohio which was hosted by Bear's Mill.  We toured Rock Mill, Clifton Mill, James Leffel & Company (hydraulic turbines), Staley Mill and Rye Whiskey Distillery, Tipp Roller Miller and of course Bear's Mill.  The conference was unbelievably helpful to us.  Thank you SPOOM and participating venues.
 
THE WRITTEN AND ORAL HISTORY OF
BROYLESVILLE & THE MILL

We are continuing our research but are well aware that this will be an exciting on-going process.  While we are firm believers in looking at original documents whenever possible, the Internet is an invaluable tool.  It's been installed at the mill.  This will also allow BAM! visitors free access for their research too,
 
BROYLES ROCKING CHAIRS & PORCH TABLE
Our chairs and table were handmade by Eunice and Cathy Broyles.  They carried on the business after founder Billy Broyles passed away.  This is a small family owned and operated business and we are proud to support them.  The red oak chairs are beautiful, sturdy and come in a variety of sizes.   They make a perfect addition to the mill's porch.  Come sit a while and listen to the sounds of Little Limestone Creek.

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