We are asking Utah leaders, preservation organizations, experienced developers, major institutions, potential funders, and members of the community to help develop and support a viable plan to preserve and adaptively reuse the historic Cottonwood Old Paper Mill.

Following the filing of the demolition permit, Cottonwood Heights has a one-year review period before demolition may proceed. During that time, the City Council can evaluate any viable preservation or adaptive-reuse proposal that is brought forward.

Without such a proposal, the Old Mill could be demolished as early as March 2027.

Built in 1883 by the Deseret News using surplus granite quarried for the Salt Lake Temple, the Old Mill was equipped with water-driven machinery to produce paper locally at scale and expand access to news among Utah’s early settlers. It is an irreplaceable landmark connecting Utah’s pioneer, faith, publishing, and industrial heritage.

After being severely damaged by fire in 1893, it was later partially rebuilt as the Old Mill Club in 1927 by the Walker family and served as a dance club, music venue, and gathering place. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 following nomination by the Utah Historical Society.

The Old Mill Should be Preserved Because:

1. It Is a Rare Survivor of Utah's Early Industrial History - Utah has preserved many historic homes, civic buildings, and religious structures, but comparatively few substantial industrial buildings from the pioneer era remain. Built between 1880 and 1883, the Cottonwood Paper Mill is an important survivor of that industrial history. Its massive granite walls, three-story height and 100-foot elevator tower give it a distinctive monumental architectural presence. Comparable early industrial landmarks include the Isaac Chase Mill in Salt Lake City (1852); the Washington Cotton Factory, (1870); and the Soldier Creek Kilns near Stockton (1873). Two other notable later structures are Gardner Mill at West Jordan (1877) and Frisco Charcoal Kilns near Milford (1877). An older structure Box Elder Flouring Mill (1856) was destroyed by fire in 2008.
2. It is a Monument to Latter-day Saint Self-Reliance - The Old Mill brings together several important strands of early history associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Built for the Deseret News, the mill was part of the effort by church leaders such as Brigham Young to reassure their religious independence, including to locally produce paper for their newspaper. The mill strengthened the community’s ability to publish news, preserve records, and circulate religious teachings. On a site chosen by Church President John Taylor, the Old Mill was constructed with surplus granite from the quarry for the Salt Lake Temple, and designed by the renowned architect Henry Grow who also designed the Salt Lake Tabernacle. It stands as a tangible record of how Latter-day Saint leaders and settlers built the institutions, industries, and communications infrastructure that sustained their growing communities and shaped Utah’s early development.
3. It Is Part of the Living Heritage of the Cottonwood Canyons - The Old Mill building has become a powerful symbol of Cottonwood Heights’s civic identity. Communities and shopping plazas have been named after it, photographs of the Old Mill are prominently displayed in City Hall, and its image appears on the cover of the city’s history book. The Old Mill’s significance extends well beyond the immediate neighborhood. For generations, it served as a popular entertainment venue for residents from across Salt Lake County and Utah County, making it part of the shared experience of many Utahns, not only local residents. Its survival through fire, flooding, changing uses, and more than a century of development gives the building a continuity that cannot be recreated once lost. Preserving the Old Mill therefore means preserving both a regional gathering place and a defining part of Cottonwood Heights’s collective memory.

Help Us Build a Viable Path to Preservation
Saving the Old Mill requires more than simply opposing demolition. It requires a credible, financially sustainable adaptive-reuse plan that can address the building’s stabilization needs, future use, funding, and long-term ownership.

We encourage public officials, preservation organizations, experienced developers, institutions, philanthropic supporters, and community members to contribute their expertise, ideas, resources, and support while there is still time to develop that plan.

More than 4,000 people have already signed in support of preserving the Old Mill.

Please add your name and help demonstrate that the Old Mill is worth preserving for future generations.

Help us write the Old Mill’s next chapter before it is too late.