Historic mill in Arlington has been making custom wood picture frames since 1864 - CBS Boston

By Kate Merrill

Updated on: April 29, 2024 / 9:54 AM EDT / CBS Boston

ARLINGTON - A unique process to create picture frames lives on in Arlington. It's all thanks to a local woman who made it her mission to preserve the history of the town and the Old Schwamb Mill.

The historic heavyweight on Massachusetts Avenue is still humming inside, pumping out its product nonstop since 1864. It is the oldest continuously used mill in the country.

The President of the Mill's Preservation Trust, Dermot Whittaker, said the original belt-driven shaft and pulley machine is not just for display; it's still a workhorse and allows the original hand-turning process to make wooden frames that are more like chiseled works of art.

"This is the electric motor that now powers the power shaft," he explained.

It's a slow, precise process that begins in the glue room.

"This is where they would glue up the pieces and they have to be held together very tightly to survive the turning process really," Whittaker said.

The machines produce 10 to 15 frames every year.

"The history becomes the present I think in a lot of ways. The fact that we are still using equipment the Schwambs used in the 1800s, still in operation," executive director of the mill Lynette Aznavourian said.

From top to bottom this whole mill is telling its story. There is graffiti on the walls that reads, "First snow November 13, 1896."

But thanks to Patricia Fitzmaurice, we get a chance to really see the life's work of the four generations of the Schwamb family who are originally from Germany.

Fitzmaurice, an Arlington resident, stepped in and saved the property after it was sold in 1969.

She raised the money to not only save it but also to keep it operating.

"She spent all her time here for 30 years, really keeping the place going and bringing funds in," Whittaker said.

She even had the vision to hire former WBZ photographer Eddie Dooks in 1969 to shoot footage of Elmer Schwamb making a frame for future visitors to see. Making sure her pride in this community would live on.

"This really connects people to their ancestry in a lot of ways," Lynette said.

You can buy the frames in the mill gallery. The Old Schwamb Mill is open to the public on Tuesdays and Saturdays; admission is free, but they do ask people for a $5 donation.

Emmy Award-winning journalist Kate Merrill is a news anchor for WBZ-TV News weekday morning and noon newscasts.

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