Karen Prior & David Stamps: Continuing the tradition of the original Save the Mill Society

Beginning in 2013, the Belknap Mill Society embarked on an ambitious journey of renewal of its 190-year-old mill building and the society itself. The building had deteriorated alarmingly along with its finances and membership. Working with many supporters in Laconia and around the state, under the leadership of Executive Director Karen Prior and the board of directors, we planned and executed a $1.5 million renewal campaign.

While we have accomplished much, including a beautifully refurbished event venue on our third floor, we know this is not nearly enough. We still need to create a dynamic first floor space for exhibits and programs capable of inspiring the whole community. Thus begins Phase II of the ongoing evolution of the Belknap Mill.

To help us understand how to accomplish this transformation, the Belknap Mill submitted a grant application in September 2019 to the American Alliance of Museums to participate in their Museum Assessment Program with a focus on education and interpretation. The grant was awarded on Jan. 17, 2020.

We all know that January 2020 also coincided with the world becoming aware of the COVID-19 pandemic. This would prove to be a blessing as well as a challenge.

In early February 2020, we assembled the required MAP Team consisting of seven past and current board members including Peter Ellis, Jared Guilmett, Shawna Bentley and Mark Edelstein, as well as Karen Prior, executive director, and Tara Shore, program and operations manager. The team was led by David Stamps, past board president. Almost all meetings were held via Zoom.

We completed the first part of the workbook in May 2020. In June, we were matched with Catherine Burkhart, executive director and curator, Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County. Normally, the peer reviewer would travel in person to meet the MAP Team and various stakeholders, tour the museum, and learn about the community. Instead, our MAP Team had to put together a virtual overview with a series of videos of interior and exterior spaces. In early September we held a series of Zoom meetings with more than 35 representatives from the community, government, education, and volunteer sectors from Laconia, the Lakes Region, and the state.

The heart of the program is a 109-page self-study workbook. Right out of the gate, we discovered our legacy is not just the four-story brick building built in 1823 but also the original Save the Mill Society. Few realize today that the Belknap Mill Society, the legal entity holding title to the mill building, was first incorporated in 1970 as the Save the Mill Society. Most mills in New England had long since closed or moved south but the Belknap-Sulloway Mill had hung in there, so it was not a shock when it closed its doors in 1960.

Some in Laconia saw this as an opportunity to “start over” using a bulldozer to redevelop the city. However, others were against knocking down the two mills to be replaced with twenty parking spaces. These dedicated community members believed that the mill could be a catalyst for rebirth and formed the Save the Mill Society.

Eventually, the Save the Mill Society succeeded and both the Belknap Mill and Busiel Mill were saved from the wrecking ball. In 1976 the organization was renamed as the Belknap Mill Society. In 1981, the National Trust for Historic Preservation honored them with an award that read, “For recognizing the architectural, historical, and economical merits of restoring the Belknap and Busiel Mills in Laconia and for surmounting the many legal obstacles to save these industrial buildings, primarily through a grassroots effort.”

Our MAP Team realized that this organization deserved recognition for its efforts not just for the four years it took to Save the Mill but the dedication of the society and countless volunteers who year after year have preserved and protected the building and who plan and promote programs and activities. Indeed, they have been so successful, that Laconia can now boast of 15 buildings on the National Registry of Historic Places and a city that has adopted and promoted a people-friendly preservation ethos from river walks, bike trails, and its own “green necklace” of lovely parks. Most recently Laconia undertook and completed a multimillion-dollar restoration of the Colonial Theatre. All this began in 1970 with the Save the Mill Society.

In March, we received our “report card” from AAM. Part of the executive summary vindicated the hours of work:

“Most organizations would require three years of meetings and hard work to accomplish what the Belknap Mill has managed in less than one year. The staff, board and stakeholders are dedicated, driven individuals with high expectations and ambitious goals. Over the past few years, the mill staff and volunteers have operated at high speed on multiple fronts to measure, evaluate, reflect, and create. The progress that the mill has made is astounding and this year of the MAP process continues at a high rate.

"The Belknap Mill appears to be a very successful ‘third space’ in Laconia and an integral part of the community. The mill currently has a strong case for support and realistic, though ambitious, fundraising goals. Fundraising procedures are established and set for the future, as it is an unending process. Staff are well versed in their roles and are highly vested in positive outcomes for both the mill and the community.

"The mill is doing many things appropriately and according to museum best practices. The staff, board and volunteers have done an excellent job in keeping the mill relevant in Laconia and in the region."

We are proud that we have continued in the tradition laid down by the original Save the Mill Society who had the vision about the importance of historic buildings to the fabric of their community. They pledged their time, energy, and money to ensure that the mill would endure. We look forward to the continued support from the community as we find new and innovative ways to give back to the community.

•••

Karen Prior is executive director of the Belknap Mill. David Stamps serves as MAP Team leader.