Preservation Efforts
The Old Schwamb Mill is grateful to the town of Arlington's support from its Community Preservation Committee, which has provided the Mill with significant monetary resources that has enabled us to preserve and protect both the interior and exterior of the buildings on the Mill campus.
In 2014, Arlington voters approved adoption of the Community Preservation Act (CPA). The act will raise an estimated $1.4 million in funding annually via a tax surcharge and state funds that are designated for major public investments in open space and outdoor recreational facilities, affordable housing, and historic preservation. The Community Preservation Committee, required by the CPA under MGL Chapter 44B, and formed by Town Meeting, is tasked with evaluating Arlington's needs in those three specific areas and making recommendations to Town Meeting on how CPA funding should be spent.
With this grant money, and with funds from donors, the Mill Board of Directors successfully preserved two outbuildings in 2018. Our contractors replaced roof shingles on the Barn and on the sides of the Dry House and replaced exterior trim and wooden gutters on both. The Barn roof had three layers of roofing on it when we started, and now has eastern white cedar shingles over "Cedar Breather" over Grace "Ice and Water Shield".
In 2019, using a second round of CPA grant money, and with Mill funds, we are preserving the entire exterior of the main Mill building. As of May 2019, our contractor has removed and replaced deteriorated trim boards and wooden gutters, and has repainted the whole exterior of the building, and has reset and repointed bricks in the foundation. The Mill has 82 windows, many of which date to the 1860's. We are preserving these by removing, stabilizing, reputtying and repainting each one. We expect this work to continue through the summer of 2019.