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The Beech River Mill, located in the historic Smart's Mill, in Center Ossipee, New Hampshire was built in the mid 1800's. Since the turn of the century, blinds and shutters and doors have been made on the Victorian-era shutter-making machinery.

Beech River Mill features a fascinating variety of water-powered equipment for shutter making. These machines are fine examples of Victorian-era art and engineering and remain in working order.  

Beech River Mill Exterior Shutters are hand-made by skilled craftsman using only the finest materials and workmanship. The Mill will be creating 8 pairs of reproduction shutters and hardware for 8 of the Historic Town Hall-Library building windows being repaired & restored for reinstallation in the Summer of 2020.

The chimney had not been used in many years. It was capped off under the roof about 2.5 stories up. Leo Racine and Steve Regal worked with the Town Library to determine the best time to do the work, mostly during off-hours. Over a November weekend, they undertook the job.  
The Library Children’s Room was draped in plastic. A hole was saw-cut into the chimney so that the bricks could be dropped down to the ground floor brick by brick, one at a time. A chute was fashioned out of wood so the bricks were funneled into a wheelbarrow. The bricks were removed by a pickup truck with a trailer.

Interesting find – As the chimney came down through the 2nd floor, an old newspaper was discovered as packing around the floor-ceiling area near the plaster ceiling of the 1st floor. The publication was a partial page of the Boston Herald newspaper with a date of Thursday, October 28, 1948.  

About 200 bricks were in good enough condition to be saved. There is an idea being discussed for a future fundraiser to help raise money for the repair and restoration of the building’s old windows.