Watson's Mill, Industrial watermill in Manotick, Canada
Watson's Mill is a flour and gristmill built in 1860 on the Rideau River in Manotick, constructed of limestone quarried from the riverbanks and locally cut wood sawn at the Long Island Sawmill. Its ornamented interior was meant to make it a model of industrial enterprise, and it was powered by five turbines cast at Joseph Currier's Victoria Foundry, with a sixth driving the Bung Mill across the river. Much of the original machinery remains in working order.
The mill opened in 1860 and served the region's grain needs for many years. Eventually it stopped operating as a production facility and transformed into a place for visitors to learn about the past.
The name Manotick comes from an Algonquin word for island, chosen by Moss Kent Dickinson when he laid out the village around the mill. The mill's image serves as the symbol of the village, and each Sunday in summer the staff run milling demonstrations. Ann Currier, Joseph Currier's second wife, died in the mill in 1861, and the site now hosts haunted-themed events such as Terrifying Tales at Twilight.
Milling demonstrations run on Sundays through the summer season, when the mill is open to the public. The building stands on the bank of the Rideau River in Manotick, across from the Dickinson House Museum, and the original machinery is still in working order inside.
The mill is driven not by a wheel but by five turbines cast at Joseph Currier's Victoria Foundry in Ottawa; a sixth turbine powered the Bung Mill across the river. Much of this original machinery is still in working order and runs during Sunday milling demonstrations in summer.
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