A new use for an old mill
In 1994 Art and Donna Bert of Washington Township bought a former gristmill and sawmill south of Dillsburg that had fallen into disrepair from decades of neglect. With help from Historic York Inc. and the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, they replaced rotting siding and slate, laid a new roof and re-glazed more than 400 panes of glass. They salvaged original materials and scoured the state for historically accurate replacement parts.
A couple of years and 60 gallons of paint later, the place was ready for business. In May 1996, Donna opened a folk arts-and-crafts shop in the former gristmill. She set up a studio for her spinning and weaving below Art’s wood shop in the former sawmill.
“It was a falling down shell,” Art recalls. “Not many people would have been crazy enough to assume they could make usable space out of it.”
The Berts had both the craziness and the experience. Art spent years restoring antique furniture. The couple had restored their stone house in Washington Township. They dismantled a log house across the street and moved it next to the mill and rebuilt it as their new home. After a while, restoration got in their blood.
For years, Cheryl Heck had envisioned a place where families could gather to spin wool and decorate Ukrainian eggs, and where students could test their mettle at dying trades like woodturning and wheat weaving. And this spring she partnered with the Berts and together they have created The Folk Art Center at Franklin Township’s Clear Springs Mill.
