Photograph by Ben Stechschulte
As an entryway piece it’s stunning: a massive, rotating millstone dangling from the ceiling, made of foam but looking as if its weight could stop Wile E. Coyote in his tracks. The sculpture, A Stone Alone, greets visitors to The Mill, a former grain mill that’s been transformed into an arts center with galleries, a performance space and a speakeasy that slings craft cocktails and small plates.
The sculpture is an immediate reminder of the building’s history—it originally opened in 1952 as the Champlain Valley Seed Cooperative—but there’s a dissonance in the symbolism of the solitary millstone, a tool uncoupled from the partner that gave it purpose. It strikes an unexpected note in a space dedicated to community engagement.
But dissonance might be the point. The unexpected can offer an opening for exploration and experiment. It’s a hallmark of jazz and a playground for The Mill’s cofounder, Grammy-
winning trumpeter and composer Taylor Haskins.
Taylor studied at the Manhattan School of Music under Lew Soloff—best known as a trumpeter for Blood, Sweat and Tears—and was mentored by Clark Terry, a National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master. Over his 34-year career, he’s toured the world, working with legendary bandleader Maynard Ferguson as well as other top acts, including bassist Dave Holland and Wilco guitar soloist Nels Cline.
“I’ve done absolutely everything a trumpeter can do: weddings, ship christenings, fashion shows, a circus,” Taylor says, downplaying his résumé. “I’ve got a tool, you hire me for a job.” Between gigs, he composes music for commercials, film and video games—freelance work that allowed him to relocate to a quieter corner of the world.
Taylor and his wife, visual artist Catherine Ross Haskins, moved from Brooklyn to Westport after their son, Felix, was born in 2010. Taylor opened a private production studio and, between 2014 and 2017, he and Catherine curated a summer concert series in Ballard Park. The couple’s eclectic lineups—a jazz nonet, a folk-opera composer, a guitar virtuoso and more—made Westport an unlikely destination for top-shelf music.
But the Haskins were looking to create a more permanent (and weather-proof) arts hub. Thinking big—11,000 square feet kind of big—they bought the abandoned Main Street mill in 2021 and self-financed its transformation. “It was a skeleton, just a shell,” says Taylor, but beneath the jumble of machinery and decades of flour dust, he saw the building’s solid bones and potential for knockout acoustics.
An initial design priority: “I wanted people to be able to see the original character of the building,” Taylor says, while optimizing its natural acoustics. The 23-foot-high ceiling in the performance space—called the Listening Gallery—remains open to the beams, raw wood envelops the walls, floors have been left unfinished.
After three years in rehab, The Mill opened in stages. The musical lineup debuted last June with a sold-out show by guitar-bass duo Endless Field, followed in July by the first pours at the attached speakeasy and artist talks in the galleries soon after. Catherine, who has a degree in studio art from Dartmouth College, designed The Mill’s seven galleries to foster immersive, accessible experiences—from a multimedia exploration of Ellen Berkenblit’s creative process, to Ann Toebbe’s 360-degree Tornado Warning installation and Jillian Mayer’s oversized, sittable Slumpies.
Art spills into the Listening Gallery, where a 24-foot-long polypropylene sculpture by Baltimore-based artist Stephen Hendee is illuminated during performances, pulsating gold, purple, blue, green. It’s physically impressive and a bit surreal—as if a virtual-reality gamescape has mushroomed out of the wall.
That where-am-I vibe is a good fit for the musical acts that Taylor books, which he says “cross genre lines and style borders.” Last year’s performances included the improvisational quartet SexMob and Helen Gillet, dubbed “a whirling dervish of the cello.”
“I want people to experience something unexpected,” says Taylor.
As a nod to modern attention spans, shows are limited to one hour and guests are asked to leave their phones in their pockets. “Come for one hour,” Taylor says, “and be present,” adding that the intimate 60-seat space encourages audience interaction.
Another social lubricator? The Knock, the Prohibition Era–inspired bar/restaurant tucked behind a corner of the Listening Gallery, where guests can sample inventive “knocktails” crafted with house-made syrups, tinctures and infusions. Taylor oversees the kitchen, serving tortilla de patatas, lentil ratatouille, and other seasonal, plant-based dishes that spotlight regionally sourced foods.
“We’re not trying to be highbrow,” he says. “We’re trying to be creative.”
Find The Mill (themilladk.com, @themill_adk) at 6679 Main Street, in Westport. The Knock is open Thursday through Saturday, 5–9 p.m.
