Residents' Soundings On Needlers Mill, the Dam and the Pond - First Round is Wrapped Up!

This past Monday and Tuesday, Ogilvie, Ogilvie and Company, a company that, as their website states "provides a comprehensive blend of public facilitation and constructive engagement utilizing a team of experienced professionals and specialists", came to Millbrook at the request of ORCA and our Township Offices.

Robb Ogilvie and Ron Kervin, consultants with the above company, were both at the Legion in Millbrook and going door-to-door in the village, gauging peoples' opinions about the future of Needler's Mill, the dam and the pond.

This blog site is confident that the overwhelming majority of people they spoke to were supportive of keeping all three and restoring the Mill as well. There will be two more opportunities coming in October and early November to provide continuing input to this critical issue. Millbrook Cavan Historical Society will do everything they can to ensure all of you are in the loop. Ogilvie and Ogilvie's final report to ORCA and Cavan Monaghan Township is expected to be delivered in late November.

If you didn't have the opportunity to receive their questionnaire, please email the Historical Society at mchs@nexicom.net, or call 932-2720. We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to contribute to this process. If you would like to request it directly from Ogilvie and Ogilive, please email Robb Ogilvie at robb.ogilvie@mobalizers.com, or call him toll free at 1-866-38-MOBAL (1-866-386-6225). You can also call Ron Kervin at 705-743-9864, or email him at ron.kervin@mobalizers.com.

To that end, we distributed a two-page flyer, both at the Zucchini Festival and by email blast last weekend. If you would like a copy of that, please let us know!

Your Historical Society is confident that this firm has the experience and knowledge to do what they have been hired to do and that their final report will truly reflect the thoughts, memories, dreams and aspirations of the people they spoke with.

Remember, its only history as long as someone continues to tell the story!

Memories From the Manor


Had the great opportunity to meet up with some of the residents in Millbrook Manor who had memories of Needlers Mill while growing up here in the Township. It became clear very fast that the Mill just doesn't mean a lot to those from the village - it also means a lot to those who live in Cavan Township. The following are some of those memories.


"My dad was a grinder there and I worked there as a teen. One thing the Mill did well was sawing the hardwood for the runners of the local stone boats - you know, the flat sleds farmers used to pull behind horses. They used the sleds to clear their fields of stones. The stone walls you see across this Township were probably made because of sled runners made here at the Mill."


"The Mill was a vibrant business. If not sawing and grinding, it stored coal there that was brought in by train. They also made use of all the sawdust. In the winter time, they cut big chunks of ice from the pond for all of the stores. They all had ice houses out back. They used the sawdust to keep the ice cold all summer long."


"I can remember what was there before the arena. When I was young, there was an outdoor rink, 2 houses and a pig pen."


"I remember me and a couple of my girlfriends would come down from the old school house during lunch time in the spring and watch the men pull the logs from the pond up into the sawmill."


"There was a wagon trail that went completely around the pond. It was used by Mr. Attwooll to travel to and from his house on Prince Street."


"My great-grandfather owned the mill that used to on the Farmers Pond between King Street West and Anne Street."


"There was a lot of good fishing back when I was little. There was an 18' deep hole at the bottom of the sluice. That was the place to fish in the summer."


"The mill was critically important for all of the farmers in the Township. They needed lumber sawn and grain ground. It was a busy place, the village. The farmers would bring in what they needed ground, and then they'd go and meet other friends and farmers in the village waiting for the job to be done."


"I can remember a incident that happened on the pond when were returning from Church. Jack Crowley was all dressed in his Sunday best clothes and he saw some men standing on the logs in the pond. He said "that's easy to do!" and proceeded to fall into the pond up to his neck wearing his Sunday suit!"


These memories are priceless and demonstrate that not everything has to disappear completely before we miss it being gone forever.

Resident's Soundings

Resident's Soundings - The Future of the Millbrook Dam and Needler's Mill

Well, the Resident's "Soundings" have begun. Maybe you were one of the lucky ones to be interviewed by ORCA or their Consultant during the week of September 14th. We hope you made it down to the Legion on the 14th or 15th to express your views about the importance of Needlers Mill to the whole Township.

Millbrook Cavan Historical Society has been assured by ORCA that this is just the initial phase.

If you want to impress upon our Councillors how important this Heritage building is, call them! Let them know!

All too often, municipalities think in strictly physical terms - not heritage, historical or economic.

History sells - short and sweet. A restored Mill will bring people, and businesses, into this Township. It'll bring tourists spending money. It will bring people who may decide to settle in the Green Hills, or to retire here. It is this type of heritage that will encourage them.

There are way too many examples to list here of Mills that have been 'determined' by those in power that a structure can't be saved, but have, in fact, been saved to the betterment of the whole community. Just take a look at Hope Mill and Lange Mill in Peterborough County. Take a look at the Old Stone Mill in Delta, Ontario (http://www.deltamill.org/index.html).

Or better yet, what about the Life Force Mill in Cavan Town, Cavan County, in Ireland - our twinned municipality? Now there is a story! And one that could be replicated here!

Unfortunately, hindsight is always 20/20, isn't it?

What do you think? Should the Mill and Dam be saved? Or should they go? Will Millbrook, and the Township, be better off with one less historical building and one less chapter of history no one will remember?

Its your decision this time!