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Many things had happened on this river and in the valley of the river before developers arrived and built a pulp mill.

Native Mi’kmaq had fished and hunted wild game from soon after the last ice age, 11,000 years ago.

European fishermen, from Brittany, Basque, Portugal, and Spain, had long used these offshore waters and shores for catching and curing fish, to take dried and salted fish back home to augment the local menus.

It was late 1750’s that the cessation of yet another French-English war made land available for pioneering spirits. Advertisements in New England reported that new areas were being set up for groups of proprietors to set up communities. Liverpool was one of a number of such towns.

Liverpool Township’s boundaries were as follows, as laid out in the survey of 1759. Beginning four miles west of Liverpool harbor’s western headlands, then northwest by north fourteen miles as its western boundary. The eastern boundary began one mile east of Port Medway’s eastern headlands, and then NNW also another fourteen miles. It contained 100,000 acres, which would make it 11+ miles wide by 14 miles deep from the sea.

Two excellent rivers existed within this territory, the Medway River, and the Mersey River. Both had great power possibilities, and virgin forests within easy reach.

Adventurous New England young people, many whom had Mayflower passenger ancestors, saw the opportunity to better themselves by taking up free land and taking part in another new British colony, that of Nova Scotia. This was fifteen years before the American Revolution; later, when that occurred many of these new residents of Liverpool were naturally sympathetic to the revolution, and returned home to take part in the formation of their new country. They quickly sold their grants to other newcomers. Those remaining formed a daring group of sailors, fishermen, lumbermen, and merchants, and by 1776 Liverpool had a well-established industrial base.

The use of waterpower in the production of lumber had been developed to a high degree in New England, that craft having originated in Europe before its introduction in North America.  Boards sawn from logs, (tree trunks), were in great demand to build houses, then as now. The potential of “the Great River”, now the Mersey River, was early recognized, and developments using the power of water quickly appeared.

Names of early entrepreneurs in the development of industry on this river include Freeman, Murray, Perkins, Payzant, Harlow, Minard, Morton, Tupper, Ford, Cowie, Coops, and Brown. Early sawmills using waterpower were developed on the first two waterfalls; the first named, “The Falls”, was two miles up the river from the port of Liverpool. The second was a mile further up the river, and named Potanook, so named some believe because the developer had originally had experience on the Potomac River near Washington D.C. Others think the word has Indian origin.

The next one hundred years saw this small industry develop with improvements of waterwheels, better sawmill practices, better steel for gang saws, and development of the rotary saws. More efficient hydraulic turbines slowly replaced undershot waterwheels; other new machines were also developed.

Shipbuilding was a natural result of the sawmills; primary markets were in Europe, the USA, the West Indies. These ships would take lumber to market, along with lesser products like dry salted codfish, salmon, herring, potatoes, local apples, etc. Once the cargo was discharged the vessels were available for other cargo, and a merchant fleet developed. Returning vessels would bring such cargoes as flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, molasses, rum, and coal.

Lumbermen branched out into shipbuilders and owners, and became the merchants who developed the trade, and provided the financing for the next year’s woods work. They organized the river drives of logs to the mills; they financed the operation of the sawmills and the air drying of the product before shipping.

The industry grew faster and faster; world affairs like the Crimean War, Mutiny in India, the American Civil War, gold in California, and the Far East tea and spice trade caused great expansion of commerce. This financial boom would come to an end.

A great depression hit in the 1860’s, markets slowed up, two banks in Liverpool went bankrupt, and their supporting merchants and lumbermen were faced with huge debts they could not cover.  Most large operations went bankrupt as a result. Land values plummeted and fortunes were lost overnight. Huge acreage’s of prime timberland became available, and were snapped up by those with good financing and futuristic thinking.  Many who were left with some property used this period to sell out and migrate to a booming and expanding American West.

A glance into the Index Books of the Deed Records of Queens County, N.S. tells a sad story.  Huge acreage’s were sold cheaply at Sheriff’s auctions, and many others were selling to raise money to move to greener pastures. Land was very cheap.

There were a number of local lumbermen, mill owners, and ship owners, who did not fail in these difficult times. Many took huge losses yet were able to recover their original positions. The Morton family was the one most damaged by these losses of fortunes, yet this family, almost starting from scratch, found a future in this industry. The Joseph Ford family also recovered or saved part of their empire, yet were very close to poverty level. Many of the Freeman’s also suffered great losses, yet survived. Newcomers like John Henry Harlow and Philson Kempton formed a partnership that came out of the ashes of others and did well. They were descendants of the early pioneering entrepreneurs.

The year was 1875. Emil Volnack, a Mechanical Engineer, (from “Away”), began buying up certain properties adjacent to the Mersey River, about four miles from the town of Liverpool, N.S. The point of greatest interest was exactly two miles from Milton’s Post Office corner. Properties he was interested in were on both sides of the river, and included two waterpower sources; that at Cowie’s Falls, and that at Rapid Falls. Locally this had been known as “First Stillwaters”, and further upstream was an island called the Guzzle Island

The following deeds became registered in Volnack’s name.

 1. Simeon L. Freeman…  $55…parts of lots B-39&B-40, (East bank of river)
 2. Eldred Minard………  $25…twelve acres on the west bank.
 3. Augustus Kempton…  $25…fifty acres along First Stillwaters.
 4. James Smith………..  $25…another part of B-40.
 5. Samuel Freeman Sr…$30…a part of B-39.
 6. Thomas Knowles SR...$60…25 acres on the river.
 7. Zoeth Freeman……   $25…5 acres, along the river.
 8. Lewis Freeman……. $100…part of a 200 acre lot.
 9. Isaac Freeman………$30…six acres on west side of river.
10.Joseph Ford……..…..$30…six acres on west side of river.
11.Snow Freeman……   $xx…twenty four acres, B-39 etc.
12.Michael Seaman……$1…his house lot on Cowie Lane.
13.Cyril Freeman………$200…….
14.Edmund Smith…….. $75….thirty acres.

There were several other transactions at that time, one was the inclusion of the Guzzle Island.

It was a few years later that these same purchases of land were deeded from Vosnack to others. Book 29, page 474,(Record book of the County of Queens for the year 1882), records the transfer of these same properties from Vosnack to others for a sum of $1200. This amount is nearly equal to the total of the previous deeds.

The new owners were three men…Charles Algeron Moreing, Semin Sichel, and Frederick W. Beckinau. These three entrepreneurs formed the Milton Pulp Company.

The map shows the location of the properties along both banks of the Mersey River, areas including Cowie’s Falls and Rapid Falls.

A dam site was selected at what was to become well known as Rapid Falls. The trees near the to be flooded area were cut down and saved for future use. This period of construction, in 1880 and 1890, was years before reinforced Portland Cement concrete was used for dam building.

Stonemasons were called in and craftsmen using “pins and feathers” reshaped huge squared boulders. This system of shaping boulders required a row of small hand drilled holes in a straight line, and special tools with a wedge were inserted in the hole.  With successive tapping from a hammer the cleavage of the rock would split and stone blocks would be shaped. These large squared boulders could be assembled to make solid structures for dams. Also in this case stone blocks made the walls of a lengthy canal to carry the redirected water to the mill turbines. The power resulting from this head of water was used to rotate the grinder shafts and stones for the pulp making.

The new dam had spill gates and sluiceways of the type that the local construction crews were familiar with. One gate was to feed water into a canal built to the new spot where water turbines would power the grinders. Other gates would allow the direction of water flow for other users of the river water and its power. The pulp mill machines (grinders) contained natural sandstones mounted on rotating shafts; blocks of wood held against the stones produced the pulp.

Wood frame buildings were erected to house the grinders and other allied machinery such as bark removal machines, screens, and wet machines for water removal and pressing the shipping product. Much of this new machinery was new to local millwrights, yet similar to sawmilling machinery.  Local workers would soon master these new machines.

The Milton News, a weekly column of the Liverpool Advance, in December 1893, had an item reporting that the Pulp Mill would be starting operation in six weeks. It also reported that the railroad would start the next year.  The Feb. 7, 1894 issue reported that the canal had been filled for the first time. Pulping would start immediately. It also reported that a water powered electric generator had been installed and placed in operation, this was the first time local people had ever seen electric lights.

The paper also reported a ship was in port waiting to receive the first cargo of pulp. Horse drawn freight wagons were employed to move the product to the waiting ship. A warehouse had been erected at Morton’s Wharf, and some pulp would be stored there, this wharf was about a mile from Liverpool docks. Ships could move that far up into the tidal part of the river, and load half loads, then drop down and top up their cargo at the docks there.

It had been obvious very early that a better method of organizing transport was needed to get the product to the shipping point.

Much new technology had come into play with this new venture. Because the mill and its management were five miles from the docks, a better scheme to communicate was also needed. The new invention, the telephone was contracted for and Mr. Frank H. Hutchinson came to the area from Salem, Mass. and installed the new device.

Milton News from the Advance again stated: Nov 1 1893, “The telephone line is now completed and open to the public for business. Too much praise cannot be awarded to Mr. Hutchinson in establishing telephone communication between this place and Liverpool. A few more enterprising Men from the neighboring republic would cause a “hum” in this place. The line will be extended to the pulp mill in the near future.”

Hutchinson was a young man with drive and soon saw the possibilities of a railroad to transport the pulp to ships docking in Liverpool. He became the promoter and president of that new enterprise also. He became engaged to and married a local girl, Margaret Smith, daughter of Nicholas Smith, Milton’s Academy principal and later schoolmaster in Liverpool.

It was a year later that the railroad became a reality, rails had been laid from Milton’s West Street along Liverpool’s Main Street, down to the steamship wharves at the waterfront. The first engine was brought from London, in England, transferred from the sailing craft to the newly installed tracks.

This remarkable iron horse made its first run up Main Street, with bells clanging and scaring the horses. This event is part of a verbal account on tape with the oral histories at the local Museum. (See Q.C.M. Oral history of Fred Braine). Engineer of this new RR was Fred’s father Edward Braine. Edward Braine was the son of Cong. Minister Rev.A.Braine.  Fred tells in the narration of the excitement, from his personal experience as a person who was a small youngster when his father performed this historical feat.

The public quickly learned the advantages of such a transportation system; an hours walk from Milton to Liverpool was replaced by five minutes in a comfortable bench seat. The cost was five cents, although in those days this was  thought expensive, and many still preferred to walk, once the novelty wore off.

The first Paper Mill in Nova Scotia was at Paper Mill Lake, on Nine-Mile River, in Halifax County, Nova Scotia. It made pulp from rags, using that pulp it made paper on a cylinder machine, with production amounting to 1-1/2 tons daily. The mill burned in 1876.

Charles Fenerty of Sackville in Halifax Co., was a man who often visited the mill above, and invented from his observations there a method of grinding wood, by holding the wood against a revolving water doused grindstone. He failed to patent his process, and unfortunately it did not get into production at that time.

Wood pulp was later made commercially in Germany, and made into paper there.

The earliest Nova Scotia pulpmill was built in 1880 at Charleston, Queens County, Nova Scotia, This was near Mill Village on the Medway River, at Salter’s Falls. It was called the Nova Scotia Wood Pulp and Paper Company. Hon. A.G. Jones and Dr. A. P. Reid of Halifax, N.S, promoted this operation.

The Milton Pulp and Paper Company was next built to start operations in 1893. Many of those who had worked in the Charleston mill became start up and operating crews for Milton’s new operation. Many Milton families can trace their origins in Milton, from that startup.

Promoters of these two mills were the same persons. The supt. at Charleston was Mr. Hughes, he became Supt. of the Milton mills.

The Pulpwood Grinder

A company in Ontario, the Waterous Machinery co., of Brantford, built this machine. It also made steam engines, and fire engines; it was also well known as a maker of sawmill machinery for the lumbering industry. It developed pulpwood grinders from European designs. Milton P. & P. Co., was an early customer for this new machine.

Several machines would be mounted side by side and have their shafts coupled together, each shaft having a heavy stone securely mounted. These would be rotated at about 200/or 250 revolutions each minute. The stones were natural stone, quarried at a mine in New Brunswick, called The Miramachi Quarry Co.  These were solid sandstone, cylindrically shaped,  48 inches in diameter by 28 inch face. Each was mounted on a steel shaft about eight inches dia., and held firmly with huge screwed flange nuts.

The shaft and stone were mounted in heavy bearings, the machine was constructed with a heavy cast iron framework. Three pockets, with hydraulically operated doors, formed part of the frame. These would permit loading about a dozen sticks of bark free spruce wood 24 inches long. A shoe forced the wood against the rotating stone, wood pulp resulting. A special burr would cause the surface of the stone to be roughened for best fiber production. Skills were soon developed to produce an acceptable fiber for paper production. Power to rotate the stone was from water turbines.

Wood to the mill was 8 feet long, and a special “Slasher” was developed to cut these into 24-inch long bolts of wood.  The bark would be removed by holding the bolt of wood up against a rotating disc in which was mounted sharp knives. This proved to be a very dangerous machine and many horrible accidents occurred.

The pulp when discharged from the grinder was screened and heavy particles like shims and knots removed. The pulp, which was mostly water, was passed over what was known as a wet machine.  This had a number of rollers and continuous blankets of heavy wool. Onto the blanket was fed a thin application of pulp, and passed through a press, or several presses to squeeze most of the water out.  Sheets of pulp from this wet machine were cut into proper size, and made into bundles of several hundred pounds each. Wood lathes and binder twine strapped these firmly for shipping to market.

Production from these first machines totaled 38 tons per day, sale price at $20 per ton at the wharf ready for ship loading.

This project proved to be successful and another mill was built at the site of the old Collins sawmill at Cowie Falls, which was located one half mile downstream from Rapid Falls. This produced 15 tons per day. The railroad by this time was in service, the wood prepared at Rapid Falls would be transported to the other mill by rail, and used in the grinders there.

This operation was thought to be successful, yet by 1903, after only five years operation, The Acadia Pulp Company went bankrupt. It had been renamed from Milton Pulp to Acadia in 1898.

The next efforts to keep this operation viable were attempted by Supt. John Hughes. He was able to get enough financing organized to restart the enterprise, and he added machinery for a cardboard mill to the pulping machinery. The new owners continued to operate for several more years.

The lease of Hughes and partners came to an end, and John R. MacLeod with some associates bought the properties and started a new company called The MacLeod Pulp Company. That was 1907. Names associated with MacLeod’s company were F.B.McCurdy, Frank Stanfield, Becker and Company, and others. The capacity of the mill was increased to 50 tons daily by adding more grinding capacity.

The company struggled along all through the First World War; a fire in 1915 destroyed the cardboard mill. Pulp still found a continuous market.

The next owner of the mills was Frank J.D.Barnjum; F.S.Mosley of Boston financed him. Officers of this newly reorganized MacLeod Pulp and Paper Company were F.J.D.Barnjum as president, S.H.Fessendon as Secretary Treasurer, J.Roy Gordon as Manager, Ingram W. Freeman Superintendent at Rapid Falls, and Arthur C. Hatt, Superintendent at Cowie Falls. These new arrangements were made in 1919.

Barnjum continued to run the company.  His company prospered and by the time of the 1925 election he decided to try politics. He campaigned with the promise to build a new large Paper mill on tidewater. He promised that if he were not successful to have this new mill built, he would resign. Others beat him to the punch and he resigned from the seat he had won.

Barnjum retired as President from the MacLeod mills.  The Mosley financing people appointed his replacement, Neal Rantoul. Soon after, in Sept. 1928, the owners closed the operation; all assets were sold to the Royal Trust Co. who had started a new operation, Mersey Paper Company. The newly formed Nova Scotia Power Commission took over operation of the dams, replacing most with modern reinforced concrete structures, which remain in existence today.

Barnjum was always the promoter; he was interested in promoting Nova Scotia timber quality. He had for his election campaign of 1925 purchased a huge log that Walker Bros. had cut while they were logging in the Middlefield/ Pleastfield area of Queens County, N.S.

This was moved into Milton, onto Walkers property, and pasted with election posters describing the advantages of Nova Scotia timber, and his plans to develop the industry. His promises to develop this further failed and although elected he resigned from his seat as a result.

The area now known as Pine Grove Park in Milton was one of his efforts to publicize the industry and Nova Scotia timber. His original plans for a new mill would have been at this area, on the banks of the river, and on tidewater.

Another park area also resulted from his timber operations in other parts of Canada. This is called MacMillan Cathedral Park, and is located near Port Alberni, on Vancouver Island.

It was 1901; the newly constructed Cowies Falls mill belonging to Acadia Pulp Company was now operating. One young person, male, 20 years of age applied for a job there. He was hired and worked for foreman John Huskins. His diary reported that his former employment was on winter layoff.  He had been working for a local woodworking factory.

His character was that of a strong church member who attended all church services, and prayer meetings. He was one of the young people leaders of groups at his church, he did not hold with working Sundays. His need to work to earn money to help at home was great, however. The new position required him to work 12-hour shifts, alternate weeks at night. The mill also worked on Sundays, to make the all important dollar.

Early March 1901, he started this new job. It proved to be very physically demanding; he was to run a wet machine. This machine took very wet pulp mixture, passed it through wooden rolls on a belt or blanket made of heavy wool. Discharge from this machine was a still very wet sheet of pulp. The operator learned to cut this into mats several feet wide, by slicing it with a sharp wooden stick. The mat was given a quick flip and folded and placed in a wire cage which again went to a press to remove more water. A bundle was assembled and had wood laths securely tied to form a bundle for storage and shipping. The bundle was placed onto a cart with flanged wheels, and pushed along steel rails to the storage area, waiting for the train to move it to the shipping point or pulp shed at the Liverpool docks.

He lasted a week at this demanding, wet cold miserable job. He was a wreck in a week, had the flu and was sick for another week. He then returned to this job, sometimes working nights, sometimes days. This continued for two months, he was getting sick and tired of this drudgery.

A fringe benefit of all employees was “the Company Store”. This was located where in 1999 is a parking lot for the Milton Senior Citizen Apartments. In recent years folk singers have described this venture by a song of that name. He was happy to get clothes, shoes, etc. there.

However, in early May, his former employer, John Henry Harlow, started summer operations at the wood working factory, and our almost “pulpworker” was glad of the opportunity to return to the work he felt comfortable with. He quit the pulpmaking drudgery, and went on to become an experienced wood lathe operator, and cabinetmaker. His skill at turning balusters for stair rails alone was of great value  to his employer.

 Many young men of Queens Co. became soldiers in that Great War of 1914-1918. The list below is of those employees of the now named Macleod Pulp Co. of Milton who enlisted and served in Canada’s forces during the war..

1st Contingent: Sgt. R.D.Brown of 1st CC Hosp., and Pte Archibald Joudrey.

Others who followed:
Samuel Manthorne, Farquar McRae, Kenneth Hatt, James Legge, Edward Manthorne, Ingram McKenna, Jack Harlow, Charles Freeman, Ernest Hatt, Frank Seamon, William Seamon, John Francis, Ralph Woodworth, James McKenna, Lester McKenna, Ralph Lohnes, Frank Legge, Fred Dagley, S. Downer, Tony Acker, Warren Dexter, Peter Francis, Floyd Wambolt, Horace Hartlen, James Bent, Fred Braine, Edward Freeman, William Bennett, Mike McKenna, Earnest McKenna, George Oickle, Gus McKenna, Charles Zwicker, Joseph Zwicker, James Leslie, Fred Coombes, Clarence Oickle, James Manthorne.

The demand for pulp continued in strength all during the war. Shipments were made regularly from the port of Liverpool, N.S.

Some of the ships and schooners used in 1916 were as follows. A normal cargo for these is suggested.
  Charterhouse….20,000 bales
  McClure……not known
  Grace Davis……5,000  bales
  S.S.Chic……22,000 bales

The S.S.Chic was unfortunately torpedoed on Apr. 14, 1916. The entire crew was lost.

It was difficult for the shippers to find ships for pulp transport during this war. The availability of men to load the vessels was also a problem, most men were being conscripted for other war work as well as the trenches.

Earlier, even before the war, it was standard practice to use stevedores from the town, men on call for this type of work, the loading and unloading of shipping at the wharves. There were no unions, and often the Mill Manager would get a phone call asking for extra help in the pulp loading. The supt. at the mill would delegate several to go down and help. The men who were regularly employed at this would object, and often fights would occur. Later in the war it was difficult to get stevedores from town so shift workers from the mill would be sent down, often on the train.

The train was a great help to the mills. This was more so when the new H.& S.W. (Halifax and South Western) main line from Halifax to Yarmouth opened in 1908. Wood could be cut anywhere along this line, and transported to the mill. The train made regular trips twice daily from Liverpool to Rapid Falls, bringing in supplies to the mill. These might be felt blankets for the wet machines, new stones from New Brunswick for the grinders, or rubber/canvas belting for the overhead line shafting used for powering the machinery. Pulp was loaded on flat cars and moved by train to the pulp sheds built at the docks in Liverpool Harbour. The locomotive would be used for shunting cars at both mills.

The telephone also proved to be a useful tool.  The manager’s office at Rapid Falls could always have easy access to information on  the conditions at the wharves , by telephoning the pulp shed office.  Those in charge of the loading at the shipping point could contact the manager’s office, thus keeping that group informed, or seeking help.

The introduction of electric power here in 1895 was a very important part of being able to work at night. Lights at Cowie Falls equalled 3, Rapid Falls,7, Cook House, 12, cottages, 32, and 13 in several offices.
The Milton Pulp Company introduced the new electricity technology to this area, and it was quickly adopted and added at other water wheels on the various dams. Dynamos at “The Falls” made electricity available to a new company, The Milton Power Co.  The village soon had street lights, many homes were also equipped with wiring and fixtures for electric lights. Cost to the householder was 75 cents per month for each light bulb installed.

A daily Journal was maintained in the Managers office, which was located near the Rapid Falls mill buildings. This building contained the managers office and several other offices for staff, and secretaries.

Several copies of these journals, those for the years 1920, 1921, and other years also exist. Weather would be reported upon daily. Local items like deaths of employees, or fires, would be entered if of interest. The main items that were recorded have proved to be of continuing interest to historians through the years.

A March 1920 entry reported the loss of part of Potanook dam from high water, and the loss of the eastern end of the bridge just below it.

1921 – An entry reported Starratt Hartlen phoning from Annapolis, he would have to “ put the horse down”, it had developed a tumor on its leg. (Woods operations also took place in Annapolis County timberland).

1921 - The mill was going to be shut down, wood deliveries stopped, Barnjum was having problems obtaining enough orders to continue production. The shutdown continued for some weeks.

Another entry in 1921 was a visit from R.A.Joudrey, Secretary of Gaspereau River Power and Light Company. He would be later known as an entrepreneur and would start up the Minas Basin Pulp operation. He was visiting Roy Gordon, manager here, investigating this type of operation. Joudrey next built his own pulpmill in White Rock, Kings Co., N.S.

Apr 26, 1921 - A fire at Milton Corner would destroy the old maid Freemans home and Alister Kemptons store.

June 4, 1921-  Reported the mill would start up again with reduced wages. Runner Andrew Francis was sent up to the Gardens to have the dam gates  opened to allow a flow of water for the startup, which occurred June 8, 1921.

May 1923 - T.H Raddall, joined the company as bookkeeper.

May 1923 - J. Austin Parker, Ass’t Mgr., left MacLeods to go with Eastern Pulp Co. in Murray Bay, Quebec.

Apr 20, 1926 - Roy Gordon resigns as manager at the mills. J. Austin Parker returns, and is appointed to this position.

Mar. 1927 - Scott Paper Co., has taken over the Charleston Pulp Mill.

May 22,1927 - Frank Legge was drowned during a fishing trip in the sixteen mile lake. He had been lost when a canoe upset.

Mar. 7, 1928 - The journal clerk reported a rumour;  I.W.Killam, of Montreal’s Royal Securities will build a new 250 ton paper mill in Liverpool.

Apr. 3, 1928 - I. W. Freemans body was found along the riverbank by Malti Francis, and Andrew Francis. He had drowned 71 days previously when clearing anchor ice at Rapid Falls.  He was mill supt., and with foreman Seymore Simms, they both personally were doing this dangerous work.  He fell in the ice laden fast stream, and did not recover from the icy shock. Search parties were of no avail, a  reward of $100 was offered, and not collected until the two Indians found the body.

May 7, 1928 - Fifty men were hired today by the Foundation Company to start the development work on the new project. This would start the woods clearing, and the roadbuilding for the Power Commision Power dams to be built further up the river.

May 8, 1928 - Freeman Tupper, the pulp companies civil engineer and land surveyor resigned from the MacLeod Pulp Co. He had accepted a position with Royal Securities.

July 17, 1928 - T.H.Raddall resigned from MacLeods, and takes a position with The Foundation Company.

Aug. 25, 1928 - The Sawhouse was shut down at Rapid Falls. Cowie Falls operation was closed on Aug. 26, 1928.
(Note: It was convenient that the railroad ran into this Upper pulp mill location. The mill property became the Base Operations of the construction of the several Power Commissions developments on the river. Number 1, would be a dam at the outlet of Lake Rossignol, called locally, “Indian Gardens”. Two  hydro turbo-generators would be installed. Number 2, was several miles down stream from the Gardens, and called Lake Falls. Two more turbo-generators would produce power there. Number 3, another several mills towards town was known as Big Falls. Nearby was built a “Townsite”. The Control Station at No.# 3 would be of the latest technology, and two more electric generators would be installed there. Distribution of power for Western Nova Scotia would be controlled from this station. The highly trained operators would be required 24 hours a day, seven days a week. High Voltage Sub-Stations were required and great transmission lines snaked out to all the western part of the province. Power production was in partnership with the new Mersey Paper Co., which had high power requirements.)

The mill journal reported a house burning down at the nearby group of houses erected near the Rapid Falls pulp mill. The date was May 14, 1916, wartime. This was the house of David Manthorne. Dave had been born in Port Medway, and had come to Milton to work at the sawmills and lumbering operations there. He had married, a sister of Mrs. John Forbes, and a sister of Samuel Wentzell. Dave and his wife had lived some years in one half of the Forbes home. The family had moved to this Rapid Falls area when the mills were built. The large family of boys, one by one, worked there, and by the time of the house fire, sons Samuel and Edward were overseas, and son James had signed up. Other sons had married and started families in homes in nearby Milton.  Angus Manthorne, another son had bought the home next to Philson Kempton, on Milton’s West St., near Potanook Bridge. That home has since been demolished, after the death of Angus some years ago, and after his children all had their own homes and lives.
Edward Manthorne, after his army services were completed, bought the home of Angus Macdonald at 482 West Street. In 1999 this fine old home continues in the Manthorne family, Edward junior having recently died, the house is now owned by a daughter Gloria, sister of Edw.Jr.  Gilbert Manthorne, another pulpmill employee owned a house next door to Edwards, at 474 West St , and his family was raised there. This property is existing in 1999, owned by Dan Oliver.

Samuel Manthorne married Ethel McCoombs, another Milton girl and they lived for some years in the Justin Huskins house near the first power house of the town of Liverpool, near Potanook bridge East side of Milton. The Manthorne family story is of only one of the families dependent on the pulp mill operation for thirty years or so.  Stories relating to the companies operations may often be obtained by talking to children or even grandchildren of those pulp mill workers.

The townsite which arose near the upper pulp mill became substantial, soon children required that a school be built where these children received their early education.

The two pulp mills were five miles away from the docks, so a small railroad was conceived in 1897 to transport pulp from them to a shed at the wharves. Originally transportation would be done by ox-teams, or horse drawn wagons. That method was used for the first several years, some shipping pulp to be stored at a warehouse built at Morton’s Wharf, other storage arranged near the wharves in the lower harbour.  Morton’s was one mile closer to the mill than the wharves, and at tidewater. Smaller ships would load at Morton’s Wharf, or larger ships could load a partial cargo there, which would be topped up at the wharves in the lower harbour.

The roads of that period were gravel, were less than desirable, and spring and fall weather would make them almost impassable. Great developments in other parts of the country caused a boom in railroad building, why not apply this transport system here. Local business people helped, including local lumberman John H. Harlow, who was a promoter and became Vice President of the railway. He was a ship-owner and lumberman with a sawmill, so was very aware of its other uses.

A locomotive was ordered manufactured in London, England. While this was being readied for shipping, the roadbed was prepared for this new device. Light steel rails were laid along the Main Street of Liverpool, to School Street, then down to the wharves at the harbour shores. The rails continued up past the Parade area of Liverpool. They continued up the west side of the river, past the sawmills at Milton Falls, along the main street of Milton, to the Cowie Falls pulp mill. A trellised bridge allowed these to continue to the upper mill, and cross the river near the Rapid Falls  buildings. Old photographs show these features. Once in operation the immediate advantage was recognized.

This operated for the first 8 or 10 years of the life of the pulp mills. All communication and transport of goods into Liverpool in those early days was from the sea and other ports. 1908 brought a new transportation system. The Halifax and South Western Railway Company completed the rail link along Nova Scotia’s South Shore from Halifax to Yarmouth N.S.. The new company purchased the Milton and Liverpool Railway Co.

Their rolling stock would be too heavy for the lighter rails, and the new line would have to be moved away from other traffic. The H.S.&S.W. would construct a replacement spur line to connect to the pulp mills and the docks. The main line had caused construction of a bridge to cross the Mersey River on the north fringe of the newly incorporated town. A new right of way was made from there on the river’s West Bank along the road to Milton. Just below Milton’s sawmills a new route was followed behind the houses on West St. and the line extended up to the Cowies Falls pulp mill, then on to the other mill at Rapid Falls.

A new bridge was created there to handle the heavier loads planned.
Some houses were moved to make a way for this new route; one such relocated house still exists in 1999, the story is told in “Some old Milton Houses”, located now at 590 West St. in Milton. The old line is non-existant now, the route can be found, although underbrush has grown to obliterate it in most places.

This railway’s route was also changed inside the Liverpool Town limits. Another spur line from the main line near the river crossing was constructed behind the houses in the Parade area, near Shipyard Point, and along the water front and wharves. This freed the main street to normal traffic, and the coming use of motorcars.

The railway served the communities well, and the Pulp Company was very dependant on it to move wood cars, general supplies in, for shunting cars between both mills, which were about one mile apart. This continued until 1928 when a new period entered.

The Milton Pulp Company, and its successors (Acadia, Macleod, etc.) was sold to the new Mersey Paper Co. This venture had a new site at nearby Brooklyn on a point of land which allowed ocean going steamers to dock at its wharves. The railroad fitted right into their plans for the future, and continued in that role for fifty years.

A furious period of construction began at this new venture’s birth. The railroad was very useful in moving equipment, and supplies to the development of  the power on the river, the base of those operations for construction was at the Rapid Falls Mill-Site. The Milton Pulp Company was now closed.

Many of those needed for setting up machinery, and understanding the pulp making crafts, came to Milton from nearby Charleston, where Nova Scotia’s first wood pulp mill had been built on the Medway River. The same owners existed for both mills, the new Milton Pulp Company and the Charleston operation. Approximately fifteen miles separated those two operations, which was considerable distance to commute to work. It was necessary that new employees move their families to Milton, or to some newly built company houses on nearby sites.

Manager at Charleston was Mr. John Hughes. He was the startup manager at Milton, and had moved his wife and family to Milton. He continued in this position through several regimes; Acadia Pulp in 1898, his own attempt to own several years later, and the new Macleod regime.

He chose as Mill Superintendent a man from the Charleston mill. His name was Ingram W. Freeman, whose lumbering background had fitted in so well with pioneering pulp-making at Charleston. He was a fifth generation descendant of Elisha Freeman, Liverpool’s first town clerk, and proprietor, whose family started the first sawmills in Nova Scotia on the Mersey River, at Liverpool falls.

Ingram had been born in 1865, son of Edward Hiram Freeman of Greenfield, N.S. Both his parents were of the Milton lumbering industry. His mother was the former Annie Miles, whose parents were also lumber people. Ingram married in 1885 Clara B. MacKinnon.  They moved to a company house at the Rapid Falls millsite, and children born in Charleston and Rapid Falls include daughters Verta, who married Freeman Tupper; Grace who married Max Clark; and Dr. Max Freeman who practiced dentistry in India.

A few years later Ingram bought the Dr. Harley Ford home in Milton, and moved his family there, becoming an important part of that community. He continued as Supt. of the company operations for the Pulp Company until his unfortunate death in 1928. News had already been circulated of the pending sale of this operation to the Royal Trust Securities. The mills had ceased operations, it was winter and would not have been working, because of the bad ice situation  at the dams. He and one of his foremen, Seymore Simms, were attempting to clear the hated anchor ice that clogged generator turbines which were needed to produce electric power for lighting etc. He slipped and fell into the ice laden stream, and his body was not discovered for two months.

Soon after startup of the Rapid Falls Mill, a second mill was built at Cowie Falls, where once had stood the Collins Lumber Mill. Hughes and Freeman chose as the new Superintendent there an experienced millwright and pulp maker from the Charleston days. His name was Arthur Crowley Hatt, from Charleston. He had been born in Charleston in 1871, a married man whose wife was the former Effie Armstrong of Petite Riviere, in nearby Lunenburg County. Arthur’s brothers, Kenneth, John, and Starr were also well versed in pulpmaking, and took an important part in that industry, all moving to Milton.
Arthur was to later become involved with other operations in this industry. He supervised the setting up of the pulpmill at Harmony, in North Queens County, N.S. Another pulp making operation needing his skills was at Sissibo, in Digby Co., near Weymouth, and Clyde River in Yarmouth County, N.S. He had returned to Milton, and Cowie Falls when the closing was announced.

The new operation at Brooklyn, the opening of Mersey Paper Company, had use for his services, where he was a foreman in the Grinder and pulp-making department there. He retired from there in 1945. His Masonic Lodge, with the presentation of a fifty-year jewel had recently honored him.

Several of his sons followed him into the papermaking industry. Jordan remained in Weymouth, N.S., and was a field representative of the new company. Ernest was a pulp-making employee at Cowie Falls when he joined the Canadian Army and saw service in the trenches in 1916. He was badly gassed and also wounded in France, and returned to work eventually in the pulp-making industry. He married the former Belle Forbes of Milton and had one son, Russell. His war experiences had ruined his health and he died very soon after returning to Milton. He had been working with his father at Weymouth, and a startup operation in the USA.

Arthur’s son Everett had worked in pulp making, but also became experienced in the distribution of electricity, and formed his own company to do this. He and his wife Elizabeth Mae, made their home in one half of his fathers home, and raised his family there. His father Arthur died in 1957.

Youngest in this family was Winslow, who married Jennie McNutt of Milton, and made his home there where they raised their family. His work led him to become Sulphite Mill Supt. at Mersey Paper.

The Hatt family were very much part of this industry. It was about 1912 that a young man from Douglas Township, in Hants County, N.S. received his diploma in business from Maritime Business College in Halifax. The MacLeod Pulp Company in Milton were looking for such a person, and hired him to organize their books and business practices. He soon was advised by local land owners; “Young fellow, you are into the wrong industry, the way they are butchering the forests in a few years there will be nothing left, you should find another field to work in”.

Roy Gordon continued on to become Manager of this operation during some of its most profitable years. He became very knowledgeable in their complete operations, established business practices so necessary for efficient use of facilities. He became a seasoned fisherman and moose hunter, and enjoyed this part of the wilderness in Nova Scotia.

Roy married Vera Harlow, and made his home in several Milton locations, finally buying the house where his grandson Roy now lives. They had one son, Fred, who served for many years as minister in the Baptist denomination, and later as Christian Church minister in Milton.

Roy transferred to the new Mersey Paper Company, and was their wood procuring agent as well as other functions with that company. His diary is in the possession of Fred, his son, whose plan is to produce a more complete story on his fathers days with the pulp company.