Everyone has seen the old Grit Mill. You drive into little Cottonwood Canyon, and one mile up the road, there it is on the north side – an ugly, concrete, graffiti-painted structure. The Grit Mill has been abandoned for decades and is a serious eyesore for anyone who enters the canyon to seek out natural beauty. Well, Snowbird, along with the National Forest Foundation, will tear down the mill this summer.
According to Snowbird’s Communications Manager, Emily Moench, a total of $79,837.80 was raised at Snowbird’s annual Summit Gala fundraiser, and a portion of that will be used to clean up the Grit Mill site at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon.
“Our guests drive by this eye sore, and we wanted to help clean it up and make Little Cottonwood Canyon more beautiful for our community to enjoy,” said Bob Bonar, President of Snowbird.
The mill was built in the 1950s to sift granite, but was only in use for about a decade before being abandoned. It has since been destroyed by graffiti and vandalism.
The Grit Mill cleanup is one of several watershed improvement projects undertaken by the Wasatch Legacy Project. The cleanup will include removal of the Grit Mill, site stabilization and building a new parking area and restrooms. The Grit Mill project was approved by the Forest Service last year, and will begin in the summer of 2014.
Summit Gala patrons donated $28,541.81 of its annual Summit Gala proceeds to the National Forest Foundation, who will match the donation, and return it to Cottonwood Canyons Foundation. They will then use the proceeds for the Grit Mill project. The entire project is expected to cost roughly $350,000.
The Summit Gala was held Dec. 28, and featured guest speaker Aron Ralston. In addition to the Grit Mill project, Wasatch Adaptive Sports received $35,229.43 and Snowbird Sports Education Foundation received $16,066.56.