KAWARTHA LAKES-Thomas Need’s grist mill was among the first businesses in Bobcaygeon, as it provided a way for local families to grind the grains that they raised—producing the flour to bake bread. After Need returned to England, Mossom Boyd managed the mill and later purchased the rights to the mills along with the Bobcaygeon town plot. This photo of the second grist mill was taken in the spring of 1919, which was built just to the west of the original mill, as indicated on an old map. The Moore family later purchased the mill. “It was driven by water power fed to it by the flume along the locks.” Between 1920 and 1922, the locks were relocated to west side of the swing bridge, meaning that there was no longer a head of water in the canal beside the grist mill. Later, “it sat idle for years. Then one Sunday morning some boys got in there and got the whole thing going again, and one of them got his leg cut off. That’s when the grist mill was torn down.”
This story is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum and is a series celebrating Bobcaygeon’s 150th anniversary.
If you want to make a donation to the museum, you can e-transfer to: curator@maryboro.ca or mail a cheque to :
Maryboro Lodge Museum
Box 179
50 Oak Street
Fenelon Falls, ON
K0M 1N0
