wanted to do this house first when I bought the property,”
confirms Reyes. Its location at the end of the
property is located near the rushing river waters and
provides an exquisite sunset. “I never get tired of this.”
With 19 more houses to go, he recognizes that
the community’s full restoration will not happen
overnight. For now, House No. 12 is a destination
property renting on Airbnb; tours of the site, as well
as souvenirs, and books are instruments for the
non-profit funding restoration.
Completion of all homes is the eventual goal; however,
it’s the company store—the heart of the village—
that is “what we’re working for. It’s our Mount
Everest.”
We See What We Want to See
With visitors cycling through the property on a
daily basis—some drawn by the movie, others drawn
by history—it’s good news for Reyes. The non-profit
fund for restoration continues to grow which means
he’s one step closer to a sweeping look at what the
mill village once was.
With the company store as the $1.6 million cherryon
top project, he dreams and plans for the restaurant
and event space that will live inside its brick
walls. “For a grassroots organization who’s trying to
do the right thing, we don’t have a lot to work with,”
he concedes. “It’s a good thing but it presents lots of
challenges.”
Next up, renovation for House No. 11 and No. 13,
both sites adjacent to House No. 12 and have unique
stories and families attached to them. In House No.
13, a discovery of a wall of graffiti that reads, “We see
what we want to see.” Fitting for this place, this prophetic
message speaks to the daily life of the villagers
in the mid-1900s.
“We’re kind of in our own little bubble here,” states
Reyes. “I like what we’re doing with it; it’s almost like
a village again.” With his vision, stories are beginning
to rise from the dirt and descendants of those who
once lived here resurrect memories that might have
remained buried. Good or bad, life scuttled swiftly
and few knew what existed outside a twenty-mile
radius.
“It gives you perspective,” declares Reyes, “. . . we will
never appreciate what we have until we know what it
could have been like.”
For more information on historic tours and activities,
visit The Henry River Mill Village website at henryrivermillvillage.
com.
/www.jackscreekfarm.com