White puffs of steam erupted with a regular chug, chug and floated above the steam-powered lumber mill outside Sebastopol.
Every belch of vaporized water represented the triumph of 15 years of volunteer work aimed at getting the century-old steam engines running again last year.
Now for the first time, the steam-powered mill will be open and free to the public this Saturday and Sunday.
Sturgeon's Mill sat idle for more than 30 years before a group of volunteers -- many of them grandchildren or great-grandchildren of the mill's onetime owners -- started the painstaking process of rehabbing it back in 1993.
The mill is a throwback to the pioneering lumber economy of the 19th century. A corrugated metal roof harbors the steam-powered engine that dates back to the 1890s. That same engine once ran the Korbel Brothers' Sawmill near Guerneville, now the site of a winery and vineyard that represent the new economy that has replaced timber in the Redwood Empire.
Many of the volunteers gathered inside the mill during a recent weekend run. The group of modern-day lumber millers maneuvered a large redwood log into the spinning head rig, which is two large circular saws that begin the process of dicing felled trees into lumber.
All the power is derived from steam.
"It's really satisfying to see," said Joanie Lane, whose great-grandfather, Wade Sturgeon, bought the mill in 1913 for $700.
Originally the mill had been owned by the Korbel family, and the engine is thought to have been used by the San Francisco Mint before coming to Sonoma County. During its prime, the mill cut 10,000 to 15,000 board feet a day with a crew of 32.
Wade Sturgeon originally ran the mill in Coleman Valley on the west side of Occidental. But he moved it to its present location in 1923, when most of the available lumber had been harvested in Coleman Valley. The mill was finally shut down in 1964 as the timber industry moved north, chasing yet-to-be harvested forests in Mendocino County.
Now steam is once again billowing from the mill and the saws are spinning. It is run as a nonprofit effort, and local residents supply logs that were felled in landscaping projects or during storms. They expect to get some of the trees that are removed along Highway 101 as part of the widening project between Santa Rosa and Windsor.
Underneath the blades in the bowels of the mill, Lane's brother, Tom Schafer, and her son tend to the needs of the massive steam engines, keeping an eye on the enormous pistons and adding lubrication as needed.
The main power comes from an 1890s Atlas steam engine capable of generating 35 horsepower. A few other steam engines provide power for other operations, such as conveyor belts and the planer. Visitors can get pretty close to these machines, and feel the earth vibrate under their feet.
Before getting the boiler and steam engines back online, the mill used a generator and compressed air to fuel the engines. But this temporary solution provided far less power.
The goal was always to get it running on steam again, said Bob Sturgeon, who was among the original group in 1993 that decided to devote so much time to its rehabilitation.
Sturgeon, whose father, Ralph, last operated the mill with partner James Henningsen, said the only modern convenience in the mill is the electric lights that dangle from the rafters. He's spent thousands of hours working on it, at least a couple hours a day.
The first time he heard steam come screaming out of the mill's lunch whistle, it nearly brought him to tears.
"It's really great to see it going," he said.
With steam again coursing through the veins of the mill, the volunteers have turned their attention to making it more accessible to visitors. A large observation platform was built next to the head rig so people can get an up-close view as the massive saws cut through lumber as if it were butter.
About 300 people are expected to visit the mill each day this weekend.
"We want to show the public we have history," Lane said. "Lots of homes in the area were built with lumber that came from this mill."
You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 521-5494 or nathan.halverson@pressdemocrat.com. Check out his blog at DailyGeek.Pressdemocrat.com or on twitter.com/eWords
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