CANTON, North Carolina (From news reports) -- Demolition of the Canton paper mill site has started in the months immediately after the sale of the iconic mill.

Mayor Zeb Smathers saidthat, based on conversations with the new owner, in about two years a majority of the buildings will be gone. He is hopeful that some of the structures will remain, "carrying on the legacy" of generations of mill workers.

"That's pretty breathtaking," he said March 14. "When I drive by that mill site taking my son to school, I make notice of that. I want to put somewhere in his memory what was. Obviously, we're talking a lot about what is next, but no matter what is next, it's so important we don't forget what made, not just Canton and Haywood County, but the entire region special."

The mill and surrounding properties were acquired by Spirtas Worldwide, a St. Louis-based demolition and environmental remediation company, in January for a $3.36 million sale price, according to property records.

President Eric Spirtas said his company, along with Greensboro-based D.H. Griffin Co., began demolition work in the last several weeks, with a focus on industry- and age-obsolete buildings. Much of the core campus suffered flood damage from Tropical Storm Helene.

For more than a century, the mill served as the economic and civic center of Canton. The property sprawls over a 185-acre campus, straddling the Pigeon River.

Primarily all the paper-making buildings on the east side of the river will be removed, he said, though he shares a hope with Smathers that some structures will be able to remain. He confirmed the demolition process would take about two years.

"We have to work with proper authorities, proper agencies to see to it that the ground, the area, the development is flood free so that people can insure and build, and we can bring commerce to Canton," Spirtas said.

The mill was established in 1908 by the Champion Fibre Co. and served as a crucial regional employer until it closed in May 2023. In the time it operated, the mill changed hands several times, eventually being purchased by Evergreen Packaging, which merged into Pactiv Evergreen in 2020. It was announced in December that Pactiv Evergreen would be sold to the Charlotte-based Novolex in a transaction worth $6.7 billion.

When the mill rang its last bell,1,200 regional workers were laid off, marking the start of what some WNC leaders called an economic "regional crisis.

Spirtas Worldwide performs industrial demolition, environmental remediation, redevelopment and other services around the world, according to its website. Projects include the Choren Biomass Gasification Refinery in Freiberg, Germany, and the Wausau paper mill in Brokaw, Wisconsin.

In the announcement of the sale, Spirtas said the property would be turned into a mixed industrial, commercial and residential site. The company said it was committed to collaborating with local, regional and national experts to develop a master plan for the mill's future.

Smathers said there is much planning and design left to be done. He hopes the revitalization of the property will result in a new "economic furnace" for the region at a time, post-Tropical Storm Helene, when it most needs it.