Smithers Town Council has voted unanimously to donate the Town’s antique Sawmill.
The sawmill will be donated to the BC Interior Forestry Museum Society in Revelstoke.
According to a staff report, the Town received the sawmill in 2003 after it was donated by Terrace residents William McRae and Archie Earley, which is expected to be over 100 years old.
Councillor Lorne Benson said sending it to the Museum Society in Revelstoke is a great way to make use of the piece.
“I don’t foresee that there is going to be an opportunity for us to do something with this here, so seeing this as such a compelling alternative is really quite encouraging,” he said.
Mayor Gladys Atrill also said seeing a treasure leaving the community makes her want to keep it but she understands council has known about it for years.
“There’s no point in us continuing to store something badly when another community could actually set it up and make use of this artifact better then we have over all these years so, I’m sad to see something leave the community and glad that there’s an opportunity for it to be used better than we’ve managed to do over these years,” she said.
The staff report said the original intent was to allow the timber sawmill to be promoted as a demonstration piece of forest history.
The costs for transporting the sawmill will be covered by the BC Interior Forestry Museum Society.