Moores Mills
Charlotte County has a very, very long industrial history. A key part of many industries is the processing of materials. And with flowing water in no short supply in our county, water-powered mills quickly began to dot our waterways as early pioneers began to settle the area. One of the oldest known mills in Charlotte County was the Owen Gristmill (“grist” being an Old-English word for grain) on Campobello Island, which likely started operation in 1771. The first agricultural settlers in the area likely brought with them small hand mills from Europe for this task. Larger water-powered commercial mills were the next natural progression. The Moore Family Gristmill was built in the future Moores Mills (hence the name) in 1784, after William Moore of England and his family had landed in present-day Oak Bay and made their way through the forest and over what is now know as St. David Ridge toward the yet-unnamed Dennis Stream. This mill burned in 1808. Although, the Moore family would operate numerous other mills in the area over the years.
Father and son James and Samuel Connick built a wood mill in Wawieg in 1802. A millstone from this mill was later recovered from the Wawieg River in 1955, after being pushed ashore by a heavy ice flow. The remnants of the old family burial plot, located on a knoll a short distance from where the mill stood, can be found just upstream from the remains of the old Strang Road Bridge.
A Captain James MacFarlane built a mill for grinding and sifting grain in what is now called Rollingdam, along the Digdeguash River, in 1827. Residents of the area would often carry bushels of grain on their backs up to 5km in each direction to have their grains processed at his mill. He later also opened a sawmill with his son in 1828. Both mills burned in the late 1880’s.
About 2km below the MacFarlane Mill the Styles Mill also operated, built in 1836. The main product of this mill was buckwheat flower.
In 1834 John Wilson, who also owned a shipyard and other enterprises in Chamcook, built a gristmill in the area for the purpose of grinding corn.
