MILTON FALLS &

THE MERSEY RIVER

                  

 

  

 

Milton falls has been the site of sawill dams ever since settlers came to this site in 1760.  There were five sawmills at one time operating from this same dam.

The Mersey River extended many miles into the wilderness; logs would be harvested from as far as beyond the rivers lake system.

The piers above the dam would permit booms to direct logs to the owner's mill, or the mill lumbermen had contracts for sawing.

The history of the mill shown is as follows:

Freemans built the first mill here, it burned the same year, and Simeon Perkins bought the irons, and rebuilt the mill.  He was soon able to supply lumber to the loyalists at Shelburne.

The honourable Freeman Tupper next owned the mill when Perkin's estate was sold after his death.    His sons Nathan and Allen Tupper, and their sons later, continued to operate until about 1929, when the Mersey Paper Company purchased these and other sawmill rights and timberlands.

This mill was demolished at that time.

The dam continued to provide power for several mills on the east end. One was the old upper gang saw mill, which was converted to the wood working factory of John and Russel Walker. They operated from a waterwheel, or turbine, and made doors and sashes.

The middle sawmill was located just below Walker Bros.  It had been converted to the Milton Power Company, which was a very early supplier of electricity to this community.

Closer to the bridge was the lower gang mill, the Sylvanus Morton mill ( many remember it as Guy Minard's mill)

A disastrous fire in April of 1931 burned all three of these remaining sawmills. The fire also burned other establishments, like Morton's store, the Masonic Hall, and Claude Hartlen's funeral establishment.

The dam itself was maintained for some years by Mersey P. Co., as the river became the conveyor of most pulpwood used by that establishment.  By the late 1860’s the dam was rundown, anchor-ice built up in the spring, and large sections were washed away.

The provincial and federal governments had their marshland experts replace the dam with the present “roll-dam”. This has permitted local groups and municipal authorities to create park facilities for the travelling public.

Thes have become very popular, flower gardens are maintained, the cenitaph has been relocated to Tupper park, as well as plaques so located to honour past citizens and other memorials.

A building in the background was the last remnants of Milton's tannery. It had been built on a small stream flowing into the river. It’s operator was John Kempton who lived in the house on this property, now owned by a direct descendant, Bernard Hemeon. That house, a gambrel roofed, post and beam home was built before 1800, and has been well maintained and improved by its present owner.