ROEBLING A century ago, workers filed through the main gates of the Roebling Steel Mill from their homes in a brand new village that was created especially for factory workers and their families.
By:Vanessa S. Holt
The steel mill is no more, but in a few years the public may be able to walk through the restored main gates into a museum where school groups will be able to visit historic exhibits and the descendants of those Roebling workers will see the history of their unique village preserved.
About 100 area residents attended a presentation by the Roebling Historical Society during a meeting of the Florence Township Redevelopment Agency Feb. 28.
Museum project coordinators unveiled their plans for a museum at the site’s Main Gate building, which they hope will preserve the contributions of the Roebling family and provide educational resources to the public.
The building, located on Second Avenue and Main Street, will provide 8,000 square feet of space for exhibits, a library and a gift shop. An additional 3,000 square feet will be used for office space and storage.
The logo for the museum looks at first glance like a flower, but it is actually a cross-section from an old advertisement for blue center wire rope.
Roebling wire products were used in everything from elevators, ships and telegraphs to the Brooklyn Bridge, which remains the most famous and enduring monument to the engineering genius of John A. Roebling and his sons, said Kathleen Lengel, who coordinates fund-raising for the museum project.
Chris McMullen, executive director of the Main Gate Museum project, described the Main Gate building as an "historic gem of Florence Township, which should be preserved for future generations to enjoy. It is still a majestic place."
The steel mill has been closed since 1974.
Roebling Historical Society members hope to have the museum operating by 2005, when the village will celebrate its 100th anniversary.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been working on cleaning up the mill, which was declared a Superfund site in 1983, and will direct money toward the goal of bringing the building back up to code, said Don Jones, who created a series of drawings to depict what the site will look like upon completion.
The EPA reacted positively to the idea to turn it into a museum, said Mr. Jones. "It’s the right thing to do, and we enthusiastically accept the challenge."
Other improvements to the Main Gate building will include restoring the facade to its former appearance, repairing the slate roof and installing new doors.
To reflect the diverse ethnic backgrounds of original Roebling Steel Mill workers, flags of countries around the world from which workers emigrated, including Romania, Hungary and Sweden, will fly above the building, and a bronze statue of a Roebling worker will stand in front of the building, museum project directors said.
A parking lot is planned with room for five tour buses and 70 cars, including four handicapped spaces.
Museum planners will seek state and federal grants, solicit corporate and private donations, and raise money through membership and admission fees, events, gift shop sales and licensing of images or products.
Lifelong Roebling resident Joan Groze said she is looking forward to the museum because of her family’s history in the village. Her grandfather, Morris Sheaffer, and his family were the third family to move to the village.
State Assemblyman Joe Malone (R-30), who was in the audience for the presentation, remarked that he is "one hundred percent committed to Roebling," and said he was impressed by the enthusiasm residents had shown for the project.
A ruling by Superior Court Judge John A. Sweeney on Feb. 16 effectively gave ownership of the steel mill site to the Florence Township Redevelopment Agency after no parties with an interest in the site came forward to object to its condemnation.
"It’s exciting to know that we have the property back in our hands, to develop it into something good for us," said Redevelopment Agency chairman George Sampson last week.
The reuse study of the site, being conducted by the PMK Group of Marlton under contract with county freeholders, is expected to be completed by August.
County freeholders will hold a public meeting on the reuse assessment of the Roebling Superfund Site from 7 to 9 p.m. on March 22 at the Florence Memorial High School auditorium.
