Local historians are crying foul over a missing water turbine in Warner likely stolen by someone looking to cash it in for a quick buck. But whatever value a scrapyard would pay for the ton of cast iron is far less than its importance to the town, according to Peter Ladd, a resident who found the submerged artifact.

Two years ago, Ladd bought a number of acres along the Warner River, just off of Route 103 at the intersection of West Roby District Road. He offered the land for public use, adding a picnic table and chairs so people could admire a scenic bend in the gurgling river.

Amid old, overgrown apple trees and sugar maples, Ladd welcomed walkers, swimmers and fishermen looking for trout or American eel to the property. As the small park grew in popularity, Ladd wanted to be sure visitors knew some of the area's history, including how mills once used the river to power their operations.

The turbine, a massive, rusted relic from a now-abandoned wooden chair factory, was lying in the river. Using a series of ropes and pulleys, Ladd pulled it from the water so visitors could touch a piece of history. It was more than 150 years old.

Sometime over Columbus Day weekend, the turbine went missing.

Besides a granite foundation, it was all that was left of the mill.

"A lot of people go by here and have no idea about the history," Ladd said. "With the water turbine, people could stop and say, 'Hey that's cool.' They could learn a little bit about the history."

Rebecca Courser, executive director of the Warner Historical Society, said the turbine was part of a mill constructed in the mid-1800s by Chapin Pierce, a distant relative of President Franklin Pierce.

"The thing with these turbines, there may be more around the Warner River, but they are buried," she said.

The missing turbine doesn't have much value, except for the metal it was forged from, Courser said. For Ladd, who makes a living building traditional timber frame houses, it was a powerful reminder of the area's industrial past.

"It's amazing the amount of industry based off of something like 50 horsepower," he said.

Ladd said he thinks the turbine was too big to be carried off in a pickup truck. Someone with a flatbed truck must've come in the middle of the night, lowered the platform to the ground and used a hydraulic winch to move it, he said. Scars on a nearby tree make him think the culprits wrapped a cable around it to help move the turbine.

The police know of the theft but have no leads. Ladd said there would be no questions asked if the turbine was returned in one piece.

"Each time you lose one of these sites, they're gone forever," Ladd said.

Courser agreed.

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