New life is slowly being breathed into the old Wetzel Mill in Sumneytown, a project many would have been written off as a lost cause.

Brian McNeill, left, looks on as Stefan Laessig and Andy Price move one of the large beams to be used in the construction of the sawmill being rebuilt at Wetzel Mill.

            But not Stefan Laessig. His enthusiasm for the old grist mill and sawmill is palpable. He grew up in Sumneytown and often passed by the mill and chatted with the previous owner, George Wetzel, whose family purchased the property in the 1930s.

In 1982, the Wetzels donated the mill and grounds to Marlborough Township for use as a park, but after 40-plus years, the mill still sat abandoned and decaying, a window into a time when Sumneytown was a lively industrial village.

            In 2017, Laessig and a group of like-minded individuals, including local photographer Brian McNeill, stepped in to save the structure located at Swamp Creek Road and Magazine Road on the Unami Creek. After several conversations and a building of momentum, they were also able to bring John B. Haines, IV on board. The group, known as the Marlborough Area Preservation Society, or MAPS, was able to obtain a 25-year lease from the township in 2018, and the adventure began.

            It's been clean up, demolition, and shoring up ever since. After new siding,

A new foundation has been erected for the sawmill portion of the restoration project. The goal is to restore Wetzel Mill to its 1890 era appearance with a working sawmill.

windows and a roof were added to the grist mill in 2019, the next plan of attack was the dilapidated sawmill.  Many cultural organizations faltered in 2020 due to the pandemic, but the MAPS team forged ahead with the rebuilding of the sawmill foundation and the construction of an oak platform, assisted by Al Gouldey.

            The goal is "a real operating sawmill" with an up and down saw blade, not a circular saw. The Daniel Boone Homestead has a similar sawmill in Berks County. Demonstrations are planned once the sawmill is operational.

            Brian McNeill credits a lot of the recent progress to John Haines, who has "provided expertise and resources" to the project, including helping to set the massive sawmill platform beams with his backhoe.

            As the project moves ahead, Laessig and McNeill see the focus beyond this construction phase and looking to becoming an educational and historical organization, and an exciting plan is afoot for the future of the grist mill itself.

            The MAPS team envisions the mill as home to a museum that will interpret the fascinating but dark side of Sumneytown industrial history - the black powder mills. Though these mills provided employment to local men, they also brought death and destruction when they exploded, and explosions were likely.

            Though Wetzel's Mill was a grist mill, the unique story lies with the powder

During cleanup of the mill property, several pieces from machinery used in the building were discovered and saved.

mills, the families that owned them, and the men who worked for them., whose lives were often cut short by this volatile industry. And the MAPS team sees the mill space as an excellent space for this remarkable history to be told.

            The MAPS group is always looking for volunteer assistance with their many projects. Saturdays are workdays at the mill site and interested individuals can also go to www.wetzelmill.org for a contact form.

            As Laessig said, the group is in need of "money, muscle and brains," with an emphasis on money.  For more information and extensive photographs of the team's progress, visit their website.

            And, in the words of Brian McNeill, "send money."