In 1859, the partnership of Moss Kent Dickinson and Joseph Merrill Currier hired T. Landgrell of Ottawa to build a stone mill. It was to be located behind the new canal dam placed in the west channel of the Rideau River. Opened in February of 1860, it sported five of the latest “Tyler’s Patent” outward pressure central-discharging water wheels (turbines), marvels of modern technology. The grinding wheels were the finest quality in the world, imported from France. The mill was capable of producing 100 barrels of flour a day and the sawmill could cut up to two million board feet per year.
Tragedy struck the next year when Joseph Currier was visiting the mill with his new bride, Annie Crosby. Annie's dress got caught in moving machinery and she was killed instantly. That story is told in the tale of The Ghost of Watson's Mill
Today the mill is open to the public with many interpretive displays. It's well worth a visit. For more info see: www.watsonmills.com
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