WILLOW CREEK — The steady whine of saws has quieted in the oldest section of the Willow Creek Custom Flooring mill, but Stu Peller sees a future where the building tells the story of the industry that built this town.
Peller has offered the town a long-term lease on the original 1912 mill building — the section his grandfather built when Willow Creek was known as much for lumber as for Ice-Out — for conversion into a museum exhibit focused on the town’s industrial heritage.
“The mill employed half the town for generations. My father, my uncles, my cousins all worked this floor,” Peller said, gesturing to the worn hardwood where milling equipment once stood. “When that history disappears, a piece of the town disappears with it.”
The proposal, now before the Board of Selectmen, would create a 1,500-square-foot exhibit space featuring photographs, equipment displays, oral histories, and interactive elements exploring the transition from a mill economy to a tourism economy.
Jed Thorne has volunteered to curate the historical materials, drawing from his personal archive and from records stored at the Carnegie Library. “The mill is the reason the town exists,” Thorne said. “Visitors need to understand that before they can understand what we’re becoming.”
Estimated cost for the build-out is $150,000, with funding proposed through a combination of town funds, a Maine Arts Commission grant, and private donations. If approved, the museum could open in phases beginning in 2026.