People in the Municipality of Clare are mourning a part of their history.

The Bangor Sawmill Museum in Meteghan River was destroyed by fire on Saturday.

The community had been fundraising for repairs to the dam and had over $50,000 saved.

Denise Comeau Desautels says her family has five generations who worked at the mill.

“We’re really sad. That’s the main feeling right now. I grew up with the view of the sawmill out of my living room window. People are sad and discouraged that this happened,” said Comeau Desautels.

It was one of the last remaining 19th century water-powered-turbine lumber sawmills in North America.

The money was going to be used to get the sawmill ready for this summer’s Congres Mondial Acadien.

She says her committee will be meeting to determine next steps.

“We do have a lot of photos from over the years. There used to be three sawmills in Bangor. It’s a big part of our history that’s lost. We were going to be a heritage property in the municipality, and were going for that designation provincially.”

There’s no word on what caused the fire, it’s under investigation.

Several fire departments responded just after 4 a.m. Saturday.