Watson's Mill facts for kids

Watson’s Mill, 2018

Watson's Mill is a special old flour and gristmill in Manotick, Ontario, Canada. It's like a working museum, one of the few places in North America where you can still see an old mill grinding grain. Watson's Mill even sells its own stone-ground whole wheat flour!

This mill is also famous for its ghost, Annabelle. People say Ann Currier, who was Joseph Currier's wife, haunts the mill. She sadly died there in an accident way back in 1861. Watson's Mill is a very important building in Manotick. Its picture is even used as a symbol for the village.

Moss Kent Dickinson and Joseph Merrill Currier started the mill in 1860. They called it the Long Island Milling Enterprise. It was one of many mills built in the area. These mills used power from the Rideau Canal. The mill got its current name when Harry Watson bought it in 1946. He was the last person to run it as a big industrial mill. In 1972, the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority bought it. They turned it into the museum we see today.

You can visit the mill during the summer. They have cool events, like milling demonstrations every Sunday. You can see how flour is made!

History of Watson's Mill
The Ghost of Ann Crosby Currier
How Watson's Mill Works
Other Mills of the Long Island Milling Enterprise
Watson's Mill Today
Affiliations
See also

History of Watson's Mill

Watson's Mill was first known as the 'Long Island Milling Enterprise'. It was built by Thomas Langrell for two important Ottawa businessmen. These men were Moss Kent Dickinson and Joseph Merrill Currier. Dickinson was good at moving goods and owned steamboats. People called him 'King of the Rideau'. He had many boats that traveled on the Canal. Dickinson was also the mayor of Ottawa from 1864 to 1866.

His partner, Joseph Currier, was a lumber boss. He also owned a factory in Ottawa called Victoria Foundry. All the mill's machines were made there. Watson's Mill was one of four mills built at the same time. A saw mill was finished in 1859. The gristmill (Watson's Mill) was done in 1860. A carding mill opened in 1861. The Canada Bung, Plug and Spile Factory was built in 1875. These together were called the 'Manotick Mills'.

Dickinson wanted to build a village around these mills. He bought 30 acres of land and sold it for houses. The village was named 'Manotick'. This is an Algonquin word that means "island". Dickinson also built a house across from Watson's Mill. This house is still there today. It is now the 'Dickinson House Museum'.

The Dickinson family owned Watson's Mill until 1928. Then, Moss Kent Dickinson's youngest daughter, Elizabeth, sold it to Alexander Spratt. Alexander had six children. His whole family lived in the Dickinson House while he ran the mill. Alexander died in 1936. His wife kept the business going until 1946. That's when Harry Watson bought it. Harry, his wife Anna, and their six children also lived in the Dickinson House.

Later, it became cheaper to bring wheat and flour from Western Canada. This was because of the Canadian Pacific Railway. So, Spratt and Watson changed the mill. They made it a place to prepare feed and seeds. This helped local dairy and livestock farmers. Watson also started selling coal and cement.

The Ghost of Ann Crosby Currier

Many people believe Watson's Mill has a ghost. It is said to be the ghost of Ann Crosby Currier. She was the second wife of Joseph Currier. Ann was born in 1841 in New York. Her father owned a successful hotel.

In 1861, Ann married Joseph Merrill Currier. He was a co-owner of the Mill at that time. On March 11, 1861, just six weeks after their wedding, a sad accident happened. Joseph and Ann had just returned from their honeymoon. Currier and Dickinson were having a party at the mill. They were celebrating their first successful year.

Ann was walking through the mill. Her long dress and crinoline (a stiff petticoat) got caught. They got caught in one of the turbine shafts on the second floor. She was thrown against a pillar and died right away. After this terrible event, Joseph lost all interest in the mill. He eventually sold his share to his partner, Dickinson.

Since then, many people say they have seen Ann's ghost at Watson's Mill. This makes it one of Ottawa's most haunted buildings. Watson's Mill even has events about its haunted nature. These include "Terrifying Tales at Twilight." Groups like the Haunted Ottawa and Paranormal Society also visit.

How Watson's Mill Works

Watson's Mill was built using limestone from the Rideau River. Wood cut nearby was also used. The inside of the mill is very fancy. Dickinson and Currier wanted the mill to be a great example of industry.

Watson's Mill was powered by five turbines. These were made in Joseph Currier's foundry. A sixth turbine powered another factory across the river. The Ottawa Citizen newspaper called Watson's Mill "a castle in the air" when it first opened.

Today, Watson's Mill still shows how milling works on Sundays in the summer. You can buy Whole wheat flour made there in the gift shop. They also sell fresh whole wheat bread made from their flour. Much of the original machinery still works. Here are some of the machines you can see:

3 of the 6 original turbines (others are there but not used)
1 of the 4 original pairs of millstones (another is on display)
Auger
Bolter
Feed grinder
Hopper and grain Elevators

Mill Turbines

The turbines are super important. They give power to all the other machines in the mill. These are the original turbines, made in 1859. The big ones can make 40-horse power. The smaller one makes 20-horse power. The turbines could run all year. This is because water always flowed through the flume and never froze.

One turbine powers the feed grinder and bolter. Another powers the elevators and auger. A third powers the millstones and seed cleaner. The other three turbines are not used anymore.

Hopper, Elevators, and Garner Bin

First, the wheat is weighed. Then, it goes into a receiving hopper. There's a small opening at the bottom. A miller uses a lever to control how much wheat goes in. This starts the automatic milling process. From this point, people don't touch the grain until the flour is ready. The grain goes up to the second floor. It travels by a conveyor elevator. Then, it's stored in a big bin called the garner bin.

Millstones and Auger

Millstones can be made from different materials. The stones at Watson's Mill are made of very hard quartz. This is called buhrstone. They came from France in 1859. Stones from Canada or the U.S. might chip into the flour.

The face of the stone has a pattern of grooves. This is called the dress. Different millstones have different patterns. Watson's Mill's stones have a 3/4 dress. This pattern shows what kind of grain it grinds. The grooves on the two stones are at different angles. They work like scissors when grinding. Only the top stone, called the runner stone, turns. The bottom stone, the bedstone, stays still. Each stone weighs about 900 kilograms. That's like the weight of a small car!

Two big iron wheels are in front of the millstones. The miller uses them to control the machines. The small wheel lets the miller raise or lower the top stone. The large wheel opens the gate to the turbine. This turbine turns the millstone.

The top stone is very heavy and spins fast. This creates a lot of heat. The heat warms the ground grain, called grist. It's important to keep the windows open during milling. This is because dust particles can catch fire. When the grist is warm and moist, it's hard to separate the bran and chaff from the flour. So, the grist needs to cool down. The grist goes up to the attic in the grist elevator. There, it falls into a machine called the auger. The auger cools and fluffs the grist.

Bolter

From the auger, the grist goes into the bolter. The bolter is a large sifting machine. It is on the second floor. The bolter separates the flour from the bran. This makes sure the final product is pure stone-ground whole wheat flour. Both the flour and bran drop down to the main floor. They are put into two different bags. The flour is then put into smaller bags. You can buy these bags at the mill.

Feed Grinder

The feed grinder was a different way to grind grain. Millstones are limited in what they can grind. But the feed grinder could grind many types of grains and seeds. This machine was mostly used to mix feed for local farmers' animals. Today, the feed grinder grinds corn. The mill sells this corn as duck chow.

Other Mills of the Long Island Milling Enterprise

Besides the grist mill, there was also a sawmill, a carding mill, and a bung factory. These were all part of the Long Island Milling Enterprise.

Sawmill

Moss Kent Dickinson and Joseph Currier built their first sawmill across the river. They used their new waterpower rights from the dam. The sawmill was built before 1859. Wood from this mill was used to build Watson's Mill. The sawmill was small, about 72 feet by 22 feet.

In 1870, a bulkhead was expanded. This meant the first sawmill had to be moved. A new sawmill started being built before the old one was taken down.

The second sawmill was bigger, about 30 feet by 100 feet. By 1876, a 20-foot part was added. This was for the new Canadian Bung, Plug and Spile Factory. The second sawmill was destroyed by fire in the summer of 1887.

Today, there is no physical sign of the sawmill. But it was very important for creating Manotick. It provided wood for wagons, carriages, sleighs, wheels, furniture, and buildings.

Carding Mill

The woolen carding mill opened on December 1, 1861. It was built in just eight months. It was next to the gristmill. This mill completed the three main buildings of the Long Island Milling Enterprise.

The carding mill was first 32 feet by 30 feet. But by 1870, more space was needed. It was expanded to 60 feet by 30 feet. Farmers could bring their wool here to be carded and prepared. You could also order custom cloth. From 1874 to 1876, R.W. Conway ran the business.

The carding mill was destroyed by fire. The exact date is not known. It is thought to have happened between 1879 and 1885. Even though it was useful for farming families, the carding mill was never rebuilt.

Today, only small parts of its foundation remain in the riverbank.

Bung Factory

Moss Kent Dickinson started the Canada Bung, Plug and Spile Factory in 1875. At that time, there was only one other factory like it in Canada. Dickinson sent his bungs (wooden stoppers for barrels) all over the world.

The sawmill, which first held the bung factory, burned down in 1887. Dickinson decided only the bung mill was worth saving. A new building was built a little downstream. It was on the opposite riverbank from the gristmill.

To power the bung mill, a sixth turbine was put in the gristmill's basement. A 3-inch steel cable ran from the basement window across the river to the new mill. When power was needed, someone would pull a string. This would ring a bell in the gristmill. It told the miller to start the sixth turbine. The bung factory was taken apart in 1926. It was moved to become part of a house on Long Island in Manotick.

Watson's Mill Today

On July 1, 1963, the National Capital Commission (NCC) made a deal with Harry Watson. They wanted to open the Mill as a heritage attraction. The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) bought Watson's Mill, Dickinson House, and the Carriage Shed in 1972. They wanted to protect this important landmark. The name 'Watson's Mill' was kept.

The RVCA fixed up the Mill a lot. They reopened it as a working grist mill and museum. In 2008, Watson's Mill Manotick Incorporated (WMMI) became the owner. Today, it is still a working industrial museum. It is also a community center. Watson's Mill aims to keep making flour and feed. It also wants to be a fun and educational place for visitors.

Watson's Mill is located by the Rideau River. It is in the village of Manotick, Ontario. It is next to a control dam. The Rideau River splits around Long Island there. The Long Island Locks are built across the other channel. Watson's Mill is about 20 kilometers south of downtown Ottawa, Ontario.

Affiliations

This museum works with: Ottawa Museum Network, and the Society for the Preservation of Old Mills (SPOOM).