Bemis Mill demolition continues

BEMIS, Tenn. — “It makes me sad to see it like this,” James Wilson, a longtime Bemis resident, said. “I’m glad they’re eventually going to get it cleaned up, hopefully.”

Bemis Mill made clothes of all kinds before it closed in 1999. For years they tried to have someone restore it. But in 2014 the city of Jackson decided the mill needed to be torn down, and residents are ready for the lot to be cleared.

“They’re like, ‘come on now,'” Barba Fields, a Jackson resident, said. “When you gonna get it done and over with? Let’s have a clear view.”

“Most of them are not glad, are not happy that it’s gone, but I mean you have to deal with the times as they change,” Wilson said.

But even Monday there was a delay in the demolition. A part on one of the backhoes went out, so they had to wait for that to be fixed. Also, the roads around the mill were not closed until several hours after they were supposed to be.

The building was finally brought down after 3 o’clock Monday afternoon.

Once the mill is completely torn down, the city plans to build a park on the site.