Saxonburg Museum in talks for $100,000 grant to save workshop, move bridge
SAXONBURG — The new management of the Saxonburg Museum is in talks to secure a matching grant for “up to” $100,000 from Brayman Construction, which would go toward rescuing John Roebling’s original wire rope workshop, as well as moving the replica of the Brooklyn Bridge which is located next to the workshop.
“We are going to be working very hard to make that match happen,” said Arianna Afshari, new president of the Saxonburg Museum. “We'd like to see ground broken this year, so we are working quickly with them to finalize the details of the grant.”
While the details of the grant have yet to be finalized, it is likely the terms of the grant would not require the museum to have all of $100,000 on hand for any money to be paid out.
“It’s matching up to $100,000,” Afshari said. “As long as we continue to raise the current funds that we have, they would match what we currently have up to $100,000.”
The workshop has a special place in the history of American industry, as it is said to be the place where Roebling — the founder of the borough of Saxonburg — invented the wire rope which is instrumental to suspension bridges around the world. These include the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, which Roebling designed before his death in 1869.
While the workshop remains intact, it is hanging on by a thread. In 2017, it was discovered the workshop’s foundation was sinking into the ground, and a later engineering study estimated it would cost about $250,000 to repair the building. The museum has embarked on a fundraising campaign since March 2023.
Attached to the workshop is a miniature replica of a section of the bridge, which also has started to fall victim to structural problems and leaking.
The Brooklyn Bridge replica would be moved to the front right of the museum, and — if all goes according to plan — would serve as the backdrop for a playground which is planned by the Saxonburg Rotary.
While the museum has not come to final terms with Brayman Construction yet, the new museum management is confident they will reach a deal.
“We just know that they they're willing to do it, and now we're just working out all the details,” said Brooke Wamsley, the museum’s new vice president.
Afshari and Wamsley also reported the museum — whose operations have recently been assumed by the Friends of Saxonburg Museum nonprofit group — have made significant efforts in fundraising. Through recent community events such as West Fest at Sprankle Woods, as well as Butler County History Day (which the museum partially hosted), the museum raised a total of $1,051 over the past month.
This article was amended on Wednesday, July 17, to reflect that negotiations between the new museum operators and Brayman are in initial stages and the company requested plan details.
