Beams from 1855 Massachusetts mill building salvaged for flooring and millwork
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HOLYOKE, Mass. -- Salvaged timbers from an 1855 mill building will be used to make reclaimed flooring and millwork for residential and commercial projects. The reclaimed timbers were salvaged by Longleaf Lumber, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, reclaimed lumber company with a mill in Berwick, Maine.

Longleaf Lumber is a master of working with reclaimed and antique lumber - salvaging woods from industrial, agricultural, and large residential buildings throughout the Eastern U.S. The company mills flooring, paneling, stair treads, mouldings, and other fine reclaimed wood products.
 

When it was decided in 2015 that the 65,000-square-foot mill building should be taken down, the quality of the wood inside warranted careful dismantling. This was executed carefully in 2016 by a local company with close ties to the neighborhood.

Working largely by hand, the crew was able to save virtually every stick in the building. Longleaf Lumber was able to salvage hemlock decking 3 inches thick and up to 28 inches wide, virgin growth white pine 6x15 inch timbers, and top grade 6x15-inch longleaf pine beams.


Longleaf's cornerstone product is its reclaimed heart pine wood flooring, which it mills in six different grades in Boston and internationally. Ranging from delicate, quartersawn elegance to post-industrial nail-hole-ridden beams, the company says its heart pine improves with exposure to sunlight.
 
The company also offers flooring in other types of reclaimed wood: American chestnut, red & white oak, hickory, maple, walnut, and pumpkin pine.

The Hampden Mills building at 109 Lyman Street was a five-story Greek Revival style mill of roughly 65,000 square feet. Constructed in 1855, its various owners produced fine specialty cloth and later dyed cotton in bulk.

More information at: http://www.longleaflumber.com/109-lyman-street/.

 

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Karl Forth

Karl D. Forth is online editor for CCI Media. He also writes news and feature stories in FDMC Magazine, in addition to newsletters and custom publishing projects. He is also involved in event organization, and compiles the annual FDM 300 list of industry leaders. He can be reached at [email protected].