Help Save Something Today!
The goal of this project is to save and restore an important historic landmark located in the Village of New Richmond, Clermont County, Ohio. This historic property is comprised of two 100+ year old commercial factory buildings situated on undeveloped lots. The buildings are located across the street from each other on a section of State Route 132 that was once more well-known locally as High Street.
The 34,000 square foot brick building located at 2383 State Route 132 was originally constructed as two separate buildings which housed the A. Keyser & Co. Whiskey Distillery until the business closed sometime around the mid to late 1880’s. It appears that the buildings remained vacant until sometime between 1897 and 1904 when the property was acquired by The Dormer Bros. Co. Hosiery Mills, who moved their operations from a nearby location.
The Dormer Bros. constructed a 9,000 square foot brick building, located across the street at 2384 State Route 132, in 1925 as a warehouse and shipping facility. The Dormer Bros. continued their hosiery mill operations at the site until approximately 1934, when the property was purchased by The J.&H. Clasgens Co. who had been operating a nearby woolen mill since 1865.
The J.&H. Clasgens Co. moved its operations to this location and later, in 1969, they constructed a two story 20,000 square foot addition to the original 9,000 square foot 1925 brick warehouse building located at 2384 State Route 132. They continued manufacturing operations at these two buildings until the late 1980’s when operations were scaled back. Subsequent generations of the Clasgens family have continued to operate a wholesale yarn business at the property. The J.&H. Clasgens Co. supplied woolen products to the United States Military and supplied yarn used to make Major League baseballs.
The woolen mill building was built with heavy wooden post and beam construction to support very heavy loads and to provide lots of open floor space. These floors supported heavy mill machinery. All the exterior walls are filled with six- and eight-foot-tall double-hung wooden windows that provide an abundance of natural light throughout the day as well as cross-ventilation.
The 1969 addition to the warehouse building created a spectacular 10,000 square foot clear-span space with gorgeous tongue and grove factory maple wood flooring. Abundant large windows lining the exterior walls and a “floating roof” design provide an abundant amount of natural light and ventilation.
Both buildings are very run down from insufficient upkeep and general neglect. Both buildings will require extensive repairs and renovations before they can be fully occupied once again. I am currently completing roofing and general repairs to secure the buildings and keep them safe and dry. The cost to save and restore historic structures like these can easily exceed the end value of the property by a large margin making the project economically unfeasible. This difference in costs and end value creates a “funding gap” that must be filled with creative sources of funding to bring a project’s costs into economic feasibility. Since that “funding gap” here is rather large, my efforts to “fill the gap” will likely continue for the duration of this project.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about this project!