Watson's Mill

Watson's Mill - Ottawa River, Manotick

"Watson's Mill, situated in historic Dickinson Square, is older than Canada itself. The Mill was built by Moss Kent Dickinson and his partner, Joseph Currier, in 1860. Dickinson named the village Manotick, an Ojibwa Indian word meaning "Island in the river".

The Mill was constructed from limestone quarried from the riverbank of the western channel of the Rideau River. Many architectural journals describe the Mill as one of the best examples of 19th century grist mill architecture in Canada.The Mill was originally known as Long Island Flouring Mills, then Long Island Mills and still later as Manotick Mills, but since 1946 it has been known as Watson's Mill. It was built and operated by the Dickinsons from 1859 until sold to Aleck Spratt in 1929.

Mr. Spratt and his wife Evelyn, a school teacher in Manotick, had operated a store near the school. When the Spratts bought the Mill, the house went with it as it only seemed fitting that the two should be kept together. Aleck Spratt died six years later but the Mill continued under Spratt ownership until purchased by Harry Watson in 1946.

For most of the years that the Spratts owned the Mill, Harry Watson worked there and later managed the milling operations. Harry had come to Canada from England in 1924 and settled in Manotick Station where in 1930 he married Anna Tompkins. They had five children and lived in the old Dickinson house for a period. When Harry bought the Mill, one of the first things he did was to erect a sign over the front door calling the Mill-Watson's Mill.

In 1972 Harry Watson sold the Mill and Dickinson House to the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, who subsequently restored one run of millstones and accessory machinery to the original 1860 operating condition. The original water turbines still provide power to drive the millstone up to 120 revolutions per minute.

The Mill is still owned by the RVCA, but managed by the volunteer, nonprofit group, Watson's Mill, Manotick Inc."

http://www.watsonsmill.com/mill_history.html