PARKER  MINARD’S HILL in MILTON.

 

 

          There is a river at the bottom of this hill, and the road crosses on a bridge, called Potanoc Bridge. The road and bridge were created because of a water- fall upstream a few yards. The first Minard Saw-Mill was built on that power source close to two hundred and fifty years ago. Soon there were two more mills with Mina families involved.

          The early grants of land provided for the early proprietors in this area were called the 12-acre lots. They were perpendicular strips 12 rods wide (198ft) by ˝ mile deep from the riverbank. This was a reasonable layout; the forest of huge pine and spruce trees would be cut down to make room for future housing. The trees would be cut into logs for sawing into lumber to make houses.

          Early Minard’s to this area had come from Connecticut in 1760; there they had experience in this “Lumbering” trade. Eldred Minard built an early mill. Allen Minard and his son John Minard also had great success in this field. Their families grew, and other Minard’s occupied soon all the building lots in this area. It soon became necessary to build a school in this area, one Frederick Minard led this project and the area became known as Frederick Ville, and the school was so named.

          Other larger land grants were made available for these early settlers. The near to the mills logs were early made into lumber, and soon foreign markets became open for the end product, and a large industry developed. Lumbering meant having trees cut far away from the mills. Lumber camps would be built in the woods and gangs of men would spend the winter months preparing the logs for a river drive in the spring. Saws were unknown in this work before 1900; axe men were very proficient at this trade. Each owners brand would be cut into the log, this for identification at the sawing operation later at the sawmill. Logs would be piled at rivers edge; these brows would be launched into the river when the ice melted in the spring.  Sure-footed oxen were used to yard the logs over snow-covered roads and the rocky terrain.

          Those more nimble men would be engaged in the river drives of spring. The ice and snow run off of the streams would swell the flow and many owners’ logs would get to the booms above the sawmills. There, special sorters would use spiked poles, at a “Picking Gap”, and sort out an owners brand for that days sawing. Most lumbermen also owned shares in the mills, or contracted with the owners for his work.

          The sawn lumber would need to be air dried, and this would be accomplished in open fields or along the roadways for ease of handling. Once dried some months later the product would be ready for market. Each year local shipping would carry it to markets around the world. England purchased much timber, usually in large squared “deal”. There they would remanufacture to their own use. The West Indies market was much utilized.

The mill shown here was demolished in 1938, the last of the breed.