Millville resident builds small scale buildings for Wilson Corner

Judd Wilson cuts a piece of wood he is going to use for a planter he is trying to finish.

MILLVILLE – At Wilson Corner, located at the corner of 400 N. and Main Street in Millville, there are tree stumps used as stands for Judd Wilson’s woodwork. The buildings may include lighthouses, buildings, houses, mills, cars, trains and whatever else comes into his head.

Judd Wilson shows one of the many replicas of the Dr. Pierces barns he has built. The replica is similar to the iconic barn along Highway 89 near College Ward.

He doesn’t use a pre-drawn plan before he begins. To start the process, Wilson cuts the wood into pieces and glues them together to make walls, roofs and even eight-sided grain silos. 

“The smaller pieces look more like a barn than using one piece to make a wall for a barn or house,” Wilson said. “When I’m finished, I stain it and varnish it to protect it from the weather and put it out in the yard.”

He built some scale replicas of Engine 119 and Jupiter train engines for a Golden Spike display he put on a shelf in his garage. When he finishes a piece, he generally puts it out in Wilson Corner adjacent to his house.

Wilson has a cedar chest-looking box he built in his living room where a large clock also hangs prominently among the other artwork created in his workshop. His front yard, house and garage are full of his works.

He crafted a patio-looking shelter out of scrap wood. The shelter keeps the weather off his saws and his workbench where he pounds nails to finish his creations. There is no pneumatic nail gun anywhere to be found, he is a hammer and nail guy.

I just use finish nails and a hammer,” he said. “I have lots of time, it’s not like I’m in a hurry.”

Wilson built hundreds of replicas in the likeness of the Dr. Pierces Favorite Prescription barn along Highway 89 at College Ward over the years. The small scale Dr. Pierces barns go fast.

“I keep everything kind of rough,” he said. ”I like it that way; it’s like I’m trying to make a piano.”

A barn and silo Judd Wilson crafted out of scrap wood is on display in his Wilson Corner.

He used to town and buy wood, now people bring him wood. He will take whatever he gets and has a woodpile of different kinds of wood to pull from.

The retired Weather Shield maintenance worker spends about three or four hours a day cutting, hammering nails, and assembling his wooden projects in between his yard work and other chores.

Currently, Wilson is working on a planter for flowers. His yard has a number of functional wood planters he’s made over the years.

Wilson doesn’t build stuff to sell, but sometimes people happen to drive by his yard and find a building they can’t live without, so they offer him money for it. He usually accepts their offering. Selling stuff makes space for his next one. There is a constant turnover in his yard.

Judd Wilson, a retired Weather Shield worker, shows the mill he built out of wood. The Millville resident has built hundreds of buildings over the years and some are displayed in his yard.

One of his lighthouses and some of the other buildings in his yard look like they’re made out of stone.

“I go down by the Blacksmith Fork River and collect smooth stones,” he said. “I attach them and varnish them to keep them in place.”

Time passes faster for him when he is working on his projects. When he needs a break from his wood, he pulls out a drawing pad and draws cartoon characters. Wilson’s drawings are creative, but are unrelated to his woodwork.

Wilson doesn’t consider what he builds anything special or creative, he just does it to pass the time. His creations can be seen in his yard and with the photo gallery below.

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1 Comment

  • Warren Pugh September 1, 2019 at 4:26 pm Reply

    NOW. That is a story. AP missed one.
    I simply envy this gentleman’s talent.

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