Indigenous settlement of the land in this area goes as far back as the Early Woodland Period (1000 BC). With the influx of Anglo-European settlers into the region, an agreement was made by representatives of the Crown and certain Anishinaabe peoples and Treaty 45 ½, the Saugeen Tract Purchase, was signed on August 9, 1836. The territory described in the written treaty covers approximately 1.5 million acres of land and was a part of the Bond Head Purchases along with Treaty 45 for Manitoulin Island.
John Valentine was the first Anglo-European settler on this mill site. His family had immigrated from Montrose, Scotland and moved to in Walkerton in 1851 where he opened a general store. Within three years, the Valentines had settled along the Teeswater River in Paisley and built a dam 600 feet upstream from the present mill’s location. The dam was built of pine and cedar logs put together with elm pins that were covered with earth. The dam provided power to run the newly constructed sawmill, which in turn produced the lumber needed to construct the flour mill in 1854. The sawmill continued in operation until it was destroyed by the big spring flood of 1929.
The mills were sold to James Stark in 1872; Stark had formerly operated a grist mill in nearby Dunblane. In 1884, the original stone ground flour mill burned to the ground (along with 10,000 barrels of wheat). The next year, in 1885, Stark rebuilt the flour mill on the same foundations and called it “Paisley City Roller Mills”. This new mill was built by barn framers and stands 5 storeys high with a four-storey grain elevator next to it. Each 48-foot x 40-foot floor is supported by five bents, or cross sectional structure, with four posts per bent and 20 posts per floor. Each floor has 2-inch thick wide plank flooring, and the walls are tongue-and-groove pine. To support the heavy loads of milling machinery and grain, the floor joists are 3 x 10 spruce at 20” centers. All 12 x 12 posts along the perimeter walls were double braced. The mill’s original structure and siding remain today.
The grain elevator to the right of the mill building includes 15 veritical bins that could hold up to 640 tonnes of grain. The bins were made of 2″ x 6″ lumber stacked and nailed flat and crisscrossed to form the structure. In order to ensure his millers had a steady supply of grain, Stark had another elevator constructed at the railway station, which provided the same capacity as at the mill.
The grain was transferred into the mill via augers along the catwalk between the two buildings. It was stored ready for milling in large round tongue-and-groove pine hopper bins that ran between floors. The two water-powered Barber horizontal turbines are still located in the basement. Together they are rated at 175hp. For months on end, the mill would run 24 hours per day, six days per week. Five or six men operated the mill through each shift.
The early mill stones were replaced with the new Hungarian patent roller mill process. Steamed grain would pass through steel rollers to crush it before being brought up to the top via a bucket elevator where the separation process began. The whole wheat flour was fed through five bolter machines that used silk cloths to separate the bran shorts and low-grade flour from the finer finished products before blending various batches to ensure consistent quality.
“On Sundays, townspeople dressed in their finery would picnic along the river’s edge and take rowboats out on the mill pond.”
Shirley Stark, daughter of the last operating mill owner Nelson Stark
The by-products of bran, shorts, and low-grade flour were sold to local farmers for livestock feed. The flour was a blend of local soft wheat and imported Western wheat. It was sold locally and exported all over the world under trade names Excelsior, Emerald Cream, Prairie Rose, and Pure Cream. The local soft wheat was also made into pastry flour.
Stark’s Mill had the capacity to grind 100 barrels of flour in 24 hours. They had a milling-in-transit deal with the railway: for every carload of wheat that came to Paisley, a carload of flour was shipped out. The trains brought in hard red spring wheat from Manitoba and Saskatchewan via Owen Sound or Palmerston to the Paisley Station.
The by-products of bran, shorts, and low-grade flour were sold to local farmers for livestock feed. The flour was a blend of local soft wheat and imported Western wheat. It was sold locally and exported all over the world under trade names Excelsior, Emerald Cream, Prairie Rose, and Pure Cream. The local soft wheat was also made into pastry flour.
Stack’s Mill had the capacity to grind 100 barrels of flour in 24 hours. They had a milling-in-transit deal with the railway: for every carload of wheat that came to Paisley, a carload of flour was shipped out. The trains brought in hard red spring wheat from Manitoba and Saskatchewan via Owen Sound or Palmerston to the Paisley Station.
Over the years, Stark’s Mill faced growing competition from US millers who had access to cheaper wheat, lower freight costs, and minimal duties on flour exported to Canada. The mill remained in the Stark family for over 100 years. It continued to grind grains and serve local farmers as a feed mill and feed store until 1975.
After various development plans fell through, the site sat vacant for 25 years until Paul and Helen Crysler purchased the mill in 2000. Their goal at the time was to repair the mill and create a hub for arts and culture. They restored the exteriors to stop further deterioration, and created usable space on the first two floors. They operated the artisan shop Nature’s Millworks for many years and retired at the end of 2020. Graham and Emma Cubitt purchased the mill in 2021 with the goal to create accommodations and a retreat centre. Their goal is to protect and enhance this important architectural landmark for future generations.
Historical records taken from: A Historic Album of Paisley, Centennial Album 1974 and Barns of the Queen’s Bush by Jon Radojkovic, 2001.