The Caledonia Mill
The Caledonia Old Mill stands as of one
of the last remains of the many water-powered industries that once lined
the banks of the Grand River in the last century. It is located
within the charming downtown precinct of Caledonia, Ontario. At
nearly 15,000
sq. ft., the 3-1/2 storey mill (excluding the basement) is a stately
structure built of timber
frame construction with a rough wooden board exterior. It is
situated in an extremely picturesque setting, and is a much photographed
historic icon.
The
mill was constructed around 1853 by James Little, an entrepreneur and
the local
postmaster at the time. It began to process wheat into flour in
1857, and remained in operation until the early 1960s--being powered by
water still up to that time. After the mill ceased operation, the
ownership of the mill changed hands several times and finally closed in
1975. In 1983, the Caledonia Mill was granted heritage
significance status under Part 4 of the Ontario Heritage
Act. In the early 1990s, heritage grants secured through the
Ministry of Culture, provided the necessary funding to re-shingle the
roof---thus guarding the structure against further dilapidation.
In 1998, ownership of the mill was transferred from Haldimand County to
the Caledonia Old Mill Corporation, a non-for-profit organization
entrusted with the care and promotion of the mill.
Recently, the Caledonia Old Mill Corporation was awarded a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to produce an adaptive re-use plan for the mill through a comprehensive community consultation process. Currently, visioning exercises and focus group work are underway and an open house event is planned for the fall which will invite residents to provide their opinions on the adaptive re-use options developed to date.
Recently, the Caledonia Old Mill Corporation was awarded a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to produce an adaptive re-use plan for the mill through a comprehensive community consultation process. Currently, visioning exercises and focus group work are underway and an open house event is planned for the fall which will invite residents to provide their opinions on the adaptive re-use options developed to date.