“It’s either bring it down safely, or it’s coming down on its own.”
That’s how Tabb Hataway, owner of Clinton’s Johnson Milling Company, summed up his request to the Board of Aldermen for permission to demolish the grain elevators and silos which have stood on the property for about fifty years. After a two-week delay, the Board gave Hataway the go-ahead.
Rusty and crumbling, the mill equipment has become a safety hazard. Hataway asked the Board at its July 1 meeting for a certificate of appropriateness, which would allow him to have those structures torn down; but the request was tabled after some members expressed concern about the impact on the Olde Towne Historic District in which the mill is located. Johnson Milling was included as one of the contributing resources which enabled the City to have the District listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. But, as it turns out, the mill actually didn’t qualify.
At their July 15 meeting, several Board members said they still wished the local landmark could be saved, but now understood that was no longer an option…