Fred Caesar, volunteer curator at the Saxonburg Museum, on Friday, Feb. 23, holds images of the damage to the Roebling's old wire rope workshop building, which the museum is raising money to repair. The damage is now covered with plastic to prevent further water damage. Ed Thompson/Butler Eagle

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SAXONBURG — This month, a group of Butler County business owners opened their hearts and their wallets to help save a piece of American history from sinking into the ground.

Scott Docherty, president of CID Associates, spearheaded a donation drive that raised $3,150 to help save John Roebling’s original wire rope workshop, which has stood in Saxonburg for roughly 185 years.

“There were two major inventions in Butler County,” Docherty said. “One was (the) Willys Jeep. The second was wire rope.”

The money was raised at a private party held Feb. 1 to celebrate Lee and Annette Uncapher, the new owners of the Saxonburg Hotel.

“There were 90 of the best leaders of Butler County coming down to welcome the new owners of the Saxonburg Hotel, thanking them for their investment into Saxonburg and Butler County,” Docherty said. “Everybody at the luncheon made a donation for this historical site.”

“(Lee) told us we were going to do a charity of our own, and Annette and I both agreed that it should be something historical,” said Lee Uncapher. “We own a historical property in Saxonburg, and we wanted to give back to the community. This building has a need. Let's try to meet that need.”

The workshop on Rebecca Street is credited as the birthplace of wire rope, the location where borough founder John Roebling perfected the tool that would enable the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge — and other suspension bridges across the United States.

But time may be running out for the workshop. Since 2017, the workshop’s foundation has been sinking into the ground at an alarming rate, putting the building’s structural stability at risk.

Damage to the inside of the Roebling's old wire rope workshop building in Saxonburg, where a group is raising money to repair the building. Ed Thompson/Butler Eagle

“In 2017 through 2019, they were giving us about 10 years,” said Fred Caesar, Saxonburg Museum curator Fred. “Starting in about 2019 to 2020, they started saying, ‘It's tilting a little faster than we thought.’ We really only have about another year or two before it sinks a little bit more, and then we got real problems.”

Since March 2023, Caesar has been running a campaign to raise money to save the workshop. The campaign’s goal is $250,000, roughly the amount that an engineering study estimated it would take to perform the necessary repairs.

As the president of a company that deals in metalworking, the issue of saving the workshop is near and dear to Docherty’s heart.

“We build steel buildings for the steel industry,” Docherty said. “That's why I have such a passion to save something so important to the steel industry.”

Caesar says that the museum has received nearly $60,000 in donations so far, many of which are coming from Saxonburg residents who chip in small amounts.

Fred Caesar, volunteer curator at the Saxonburg Museum holds an envelope full of checks from the community and business owners Friday, Feb. 23, in front of the Roebling wire rope workshop near the Saxonburg Museum. Jack Hutterer, Saxonburg business owner, from left; Mark Bird, Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company president and district aide to Marci Mustello; Scott Doherty, CID Associates president; Fred Caesar, Saxonburg Museum curator; Annette Gervais, Hotel Saxonburg co-owner; Lee Uncapher, Hotel Saxonburg co-owner and Arianna Afshari, Hotel Saxonburg general manager. Ed Thompson/Butler Eagle

Ed Thompson

“Hundreds of people in the Saxonburg area have given $20, $50, $100,” Caesar said.

The workshop has also received donations from as far away as New Jersey, Ohio, and Kentucky — all places where the Roebling family left their mark in some form.

In addition to the Brooklyn Bridge, Roebling oversaw the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Ky. Roebling also set up his wire manufacturing company in Trenton, N.J.

“They have a small museum near there. We had a lady that's a docent at that museum,” Caesar said. “She sent me a check for $300 with a big note reading, ‘Save the workshop!’”

The Association of Iron & Steel Technology is placing a full-page ad in an upcoming issue of its official publication to raise awareness of the effort to save the workshop. The issue will be printed in advance of the AISTech conference in Columbus, Ohio, and the ad was free.

“It’s the steel industry helping the steel industry,” Docherty said.

Caesar is hoping that state or federal historic preservation grants can provide some quick financial help. He is set to turn in the paperwork for a $50,000 matching historical grant from the state.

“We've applied for some grants, and we're very hopeful that we might get a state grant or two,” Caesar said. “There's so many needs in this state for historic buildings. But this is significant, because this is a one-time deal. We need to save this now. If we don't do that, we don't have this building.”

A display inside the Saxonburg Museum in Butler County shows the wire cable that hold together many bridges across the country. Ed Thompson/Butler Eagle

Ed Thompson

This is the damage and wear on the inside of the Roebling's old wire rope workshop building in Saxonburg, Butler County. Ed Thompson/Butler Eagle

Ed Thompson

The floor inside the Roebling's old wire rope workshop building in Saxonburg is sagging to the point that the museum has placed a weight restriction on who can stand on it. The group is raising money to repair the workshop. Ed Thompson/Butler Eagle

Ed Thompson

The entire way around the foundation at the Roebling's old wire rope workshop in Saxonburg is wrapped with plastic to keep the water out. The foundation is in dire need of repair. Ed Thompson/Butler Eagle

Ed Thompson