Huron County Historical Society - HCHS 2022 Mills Notes

 

 

HCHC 2022 Mills Notes Index (Volume 59)

• Contents
  • A Tale of 2 Mills Introduction (Page 3)
  • Power of Water (Page 5)
  • How a Mill Works (Page 6)
  • How Dams Work (Page 7)
  • The Beginning Of The End For Mills (Page 8)
  • The Village of Gorrie (Page 9)
  • Leech Notes (Page 11)
  • Owners of the Maguire Mill (Page 15)
  • History Of Floods (Page 16)
  • Maitland Mill Association 1996 (Page 17)
  • The Village Of Brussels (Page 19)
  • Vanstone Brothers (Page 21)
  • John Logan (Page 22)
  • Details Of Logan Mill (Page 23)

 

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Editor's Notes 2022

A Tale Of Two Mills

 

It is hard to picture just what this countryside looked like before European settlement. The Maitland River was always a source of food; a highway through the watershed. It was soon identified as a wonderful source of power and human ingenuity set to work to harness it and relieve some of the work load of those early settlers.

The first task was to direct the water power with the building of earthern berms and later more solid dams of stone and concrete to direct the water through the workings of the mills that perched along the banks. The mills encouraged further agricultural develop ment of the area.

In many cases small settlements grew around the mills sites. As technology advanced, the work in the mills changed and, in time, the great wheels and grinders were silenced and the doors shut. In many cases mills that could not be repurposed were dis mantled. It was a challenge as many of the buildings took a beating from the power of the water coursing through them and the heavy machinery took its toll on the wooden frames and stone foundations.

Our much anticipated Trek to Bruce and Grey continues to be on hold. We hopeful that the fall of 2021 will be a good time to gather and head north.

We were fortunate in Huron County to have had two mills left intact; one in Gorrie (demolished unfortunately in late 2021) and one in Brussels.

Plans are afoot to amalgamate some equipment from Gorrie to Brussels with the end result a model of a working mill reflective of so many that are now gone in the watershed.

This is the story of the 'Two Mills' and the plan for the future. Rosemary Rognvaldson and Linda Henhoeffer submitted the research and we borrowed heavily from The Power of the Maitland written by John Hazlitt and Ted Turner, and The Lines of Ho wick by the Howick Historical Society.

A Special Thank You

We would like to thank everyone who shared their stories and photos as we gathered information to write this history of our two Mills. As members of 2020 Maitland Mills Association, we are hoping the stories of these two Mills will encourage appreciation of their history and the important role they played in the development and success of their respective communities.

 

If any of you have queries about the Society or archives, please use the current information on the contact HCHS page.

 

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