Swift Creel Mill Theater, a beloved 200-seat theater, dinner destination, and professional troupe are recovering from flash floods in the wake of heavy down pours that hit on August 15. Housed in a historic gristmill dating to 1663, the nearly 55-year-old playhouse and its structure lay in the path of a swollen Swift Creek brought on by the 10-inches of rain the area received on Aug. 15. Water filled the basement and more than a foot rose into the main floor destroying all fixtures, furniture, and permanent art.
”I have been through many floods during my 44 years at the Mill, but this one, by far, has been the most devastating,” Tom Width, artistic director said in an email. “We can and will, however, recover and thrive again. We miss our audiences and can’t wait to have them back with us.”
Staff and crew began clean-up as soon as the water receded. They were able to remove the mud in the dining room by the following Tuesday and by the end of last week most of the mud had been removed from the basement.
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- Storage containers capsized by Swift Creek flood water behind Swift Creek Mill Playhouse.
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- Swift Creek Mill Playhouse basement had 18 inches of water.
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- Swift Creek Mill after Swift Creek swelled from rains received on Aug. 15.
“The entire first floor, including the new bathrooms and elevator had about 18 inches of water,” Steve Koehler, managing director said. “The water did recede fairly quickly so we believe that the impact is minimal. This week we hope to bring in the elevator maintenance team to assure that it is in good shape.”
The theater had some insurance but not enough to cover what might add up to six digits in losses. The scene shop in back took on water, and they lost some lumber and some stock doors. The five storage trailers for costumes and props have yet to be inspected. One of them floated about twenty feet and fell on its side and took on a lot of water. Koehler said that most of the contents were not damaged, just need cleaning.
“We are still a few days from having some firm numbers.” Koehler said. “We need to finish digging out prior to finalizing estimates. Educated guess though, we anticipate total cost to be around $100,000.”
“We will continue cleaning and eliminating moisture through the building this week. Abating mold and other water issues are the immediate concern,” he said. “We have already secured tables and chairs to replace what was lost. Once these first steps are done we will be able to plan next steps, including rebuilding the basement.”
The flood has added to the Mill’s concerns about reopening due to the pandemic and their forced closure in March. They have created a GoFundMe page with an initial goal of $20,000.
“We feel inspired by the generous response from the community. Reopening will probably not be strongly impacted by this, and we were already looking at a spring opening,” Koehler added. “The GoFundMe response has been huge, but is only one part of the overall strategy. We met the initial goal in just a few days, prompting us to extend the initial goal to $30,000.”
Fellow actors have been reaching out too. “We have received an incredible response literally from all around the nation. Actors from the original production in 1965 of Carnival have sent donations, Koehler said. “We have also seen an incredible response from the Richmond theater community, actors, directors of other theaters, and the theater population in general has responded with incredible generosity. We have a long way to go, but the initial response has given us hope and has inspired us to do the work needed to recover and to eventually reopen.”
Swift Creek Mill Theater professional playhouse was started by three local families in 1965. In the late 1980’s the Mill was purchased by another local family, whose experience in the education system prompted them to add educational youth programming. Swift Creek Mill Playhouse reorganized and became the now 501(c)(3) Swift Creek Mill Theatre in 2001.
“We are humbled and inspired by the incredible response,” Koehler said. “The building has survived hurricanes, floods, fires, even wars. The theatre has been a vital part of the cultural fabric in the region for almost 55 years, and thanks to the incredible support we have seen, we are determined for it to remain so for many years to come.”
Swift Creek Mill Theater is located at 17401 Jefferson Davis Hwy, South Chesterfield. To donate to Swift Creek Mill Theatre, visit www.swiftcreekmill.com/donate, contribute to their GoFundMe campaign.
