Lehi’s “lady” gets a facelift

Historic Lehi Roller Mills re-painted

Sometimes when a “lady,” who happens to be the face of Lehi, needs a facelift, you let the professionals do it. The Lehi Roller Mills, located on Main Street and I-15, is getting a new paint job, a bit of a “lift” to the sagging porch, and is in the process of being transformed back into the beauty that has become the symbol of Lehi City.

In the next couple of weeks, a nine-man team of professional “flour mill painters” from the Farm Service Group company who came to Lehi from Indiana to tackle the job, will complete the repainting. The historic structure was built in 1906. 

”We specialize in painting flour mills, new and old,  all over the country,” said FSG owner, Gary Shepard. “This is the first time we have painted the Lehi Roller Mills,” he said. His graphic designer and brother, Jim Shepard, is the man in charge of keeping the fonts, colors, and style in-line with the original building. “It looks like many of these buildings have had some paint touch ups over the years, but it has been a while since this mill was completely repainted. “Our team power washed, prepped, and primed the building and we are in the process of completely repainting all of the buildings on the site,” said Jim, who has been an artist for over 50 years and worked at Disney as an artist. “I used paper patterns to trace the original lettering and design elements and we will be keeping as close to the original designs and paint colors from 1906 as we can,” said Jim. “This is a big project for us because of the height of the building and how large the lettering is.” The buildings are being painted in a fade resistant enamel made especially for exteriors.

“The Lehi Roller Mills hasn’t had a complete paint job since 1982, before the movie ‘Footloose’ was filmed at the Lehi Roller Mills,” said store employee, Marjorie Knight. The three-week project includes tearing down an unused receiving building near the front entrance of the mill. “The front of the Mill will look a lot better with that building gone,” said Knight. “We are also replacing a sagging front porch, replacing all of the windows, and will be repainting all of the roofs. We are excited to get it done,” she said.

“We love our job of helping to preserve a bit of history,” said Gary Shepard.

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