Old Stone Mill, Delta, Ontario

Historic Views of the Old Stone Mill

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Old Stone Mill North Face and Millpond, c.1870\n\nThis c.1870 photo is the earliest we have, taken by Roderick Denaut, son of mill owner Walter Denaut. \n\nWe don’t know the name of the people (or the horse), but of mill interest is the north wall of the mill showing the buffer wall, stoplog dam and the level of the mill pond. \n\nIn 1962, MNR built a new dam upstream of the bridge, lowering the water in front of the mill by 5 feet (the level seen today).\n\nRoderick Denaut ran a photo studio in Delta from 1867 to 1874. He contracted tuberculosis and died in 1876.
Denaut Hall and Old Stone Mill, c.1880\n\nThis c.1880 photo shows Denaut Hall (left), built by Walter Denaut in the 1850s (now our Blacksmith Shop) and the Old Stone Mill. \nYou can see two birdhouses on the middle 3rd floor window of the mill. Also the three 2 over 2 windows on the 2nd floor of the mill. These were “modern” windows for the Miller’s Room, built for owner Walter Denaut in the 1850s. \nEventually all windows were changed to the 2 over 2 design. Restoration in the 1970s returned all the windows to their original (1810) 12 over 8 design.
South side of Old Stone Mill and West side of Denaut Hall, c. late 1890s\n\nThe stack of the steam boiler is visible going through the roof of the turbine hall - we date its installation to the late 1890s.\n\nAlso note the lack of vegetation growth by Denaut Hall and the boat house. Later photos show more vegetation and no boathouse. \n\nWe can also see the stonework above the windows of the Turbine Hall. This was later removed and wooden roof extended down to the top of the windows.
South Side of Old Stone Mill and West Side of Denaut Hall, c. 1900\n\nThis c.1900 photos shows the large steam stack of a boiler, installed in the Turbine Hall in about 1898. \nFrom left to right is the sawmill, turbine hall (both c.1861) and the mill (1810). To its right is the back of Denaut Hall (c.1850s) showing the robust stone foundation that held up the brick upper storey which was removed in the early 1960s. \nThere appears to be a faux (non supporting) arch at the top of the stonework of the Turbine Hall. It is assumed this was a decorative feature, reflecting the arch (supporting) of the turbine tailrace.\nNote the very poor condition of the mill at this time with a severe crack running up the left side of the south wall.


Old Stone Mill Painting by Hazel Horton, c.1906\n\nThis painting was done by Hazel Horton when she was about 14. The story goes that she painted it while sitting in a canoe. We have a photo of a girl in a canoe showing the mill with the steam stack behind h (see next photo).\nHazel was born on March 7, 1892 and married Charles Chant. If the story is correct (that she was 14 when she did this painting), then this painting of the mill was done in 1906.
Lady/Girl in a Canoe in the lower mill stream, n.d.\n\nWe have no background information about this photo, but it is speculated to be of Hazel Horton who painted the mill showing the boiler stack which is visible in this photo. The story goes that Hazel was 14 when she did the painting while in a canoe. She was born on March 7, 1892 and married Charles Chant. If the story is correct, then she painted the mill in 1906.
The Old Stone Mill in about 1900\n\nNote steam stack rising above the roof of the mill and the lack of a sidewalk seen in later photos and a ramp rather than stairs leading into Denaut Hall (left). \nA millstone sits in front of the mill, at this time the mill was using roller mills to grind wheat into flour.
King Street by Old Stone Mill, c.1905\n\n The Jubilee Block, built in 1897, is visible in the background. \nYou can see two French burrstones outside the mill. They were no longer needed when the mill converted to a roller mill in the 1890s. Then owner, George Haskin (who may be the gentleman on the right), was likely offering them for sale. \nWe can also see the birdhouse above a 3rd floor window of the mill.\nThis photo is pre-sidewalk but now shows a set of outside stairs leading to the door into Denaut Hall.


Old Stone Mill c.1917\n\nWe see the addition of a sidewalk as well as the lack of a steam engine stack which dates the mill to the 1910s.\nWe also see sign for Purity Flour showing the mill transitioning from making it's own flour to selling other manufacturer's flour. Purity started up in Manitoba in 1905 and quickly expanded becoming a popular brand of flour. \nOn the left of the door is a sign for Ogilvie's Royal Household Flour, another popular brand. The mill was later to sell Robin Hood Flour.\nNote the two insulators on a second floor window on the right side. These lead into the "Miller's Room" first built by Walter Denaut in the 1850s. It indicates telephone service into that room which would have been used by then owner Hastings Steele.
King Street looking north, c.1930\n\nDenaut Hall (left) was sold by Hastings Steele to George Snider in the 1920s. Snider converted the carriage shed portion of the hall into a blacksmith shop, as shown in this photo. The sign above the door reads G.A. Snider and the word Blacksmith is also visible.\nSnider ran the shop for 16 years before selling it to Warren Henderson. It was later sold to Gordon Gray. \nIn the early 1960s, Gray had the upper brick storey removed and replaced with a wooden frame storey covered with galvanized steel.\nIn 1992, the Delta Mill Society purchased the building using one half for oversized artefact storage and the other half as a Blacksmith Shop, a role it continues to play to this day.\nIn the background, the red building is the old Russell store, demolished in 2019.
Flooding on west side of mill, c.1935\n\nThis photo was likely taken during the 1935 flooding of Delta. The stone bridge on King Street just north of the mill (see later photos) was designed to prevent the Old Stone Mill from flooding. \n\nAs waters in Upper Beverley Lake rose, before they could overtop the bridge, that water flooded into the original route of the stream, down what is today's Recreation Drive. \n\nThis resulted in the topographically lower areas of Delta, the part on top of the original, now filled in, stream valley, flooding. \n\nFor those interested in the details of this, see "Building the 1810 Mill in Delta, Ontario" on the history page of our website (PDF).\n\nIn this photo the south wall of the turbine hall has not been cemented in, but the stonework above the tailrace arch (almost completely underwater in this photo) is cleary in rough shape. Photos dated to the late 1940s, early 1950s show the tailrace and part of the wall repaired with cement.
Old Stone Mill - c.1930s or 40s\n\nLogs destined for the sawmill are visible on the left in front of Hasting Steele's house. \n\nThe lower storey of Denaut Hall (right) has now been converted into a Blacksmith shop. Originally the west wall was just a solid stone foundation wall, but now windows have been added to it, There is a pile of material up against the wall under the right side window, it may be clinker (coal forge waste).\n\nVisible between Denaut Hall and the Old Stone mill is the back of the salt shed (built in the 1920s). It was used to store salt for livestock. It was removed in about 1960.


Old Stone Mill Sawmill, c.1940s\n\nThis colour photo was taken in the 1940s or early 1950s\nIt shows the sawmill that was attached to the Turbine Hall. It was powered by the downstream turbine in the Turbine Hall.
Old Stone Mill - August 1957\n\nOn the left is Denaut Hall, the lower story is now being used as a garage by Gordon Gray. Note the cracking in the brickwork, Gray had the brickwork demolished in the early 1960s and replaced with the current wooden frame half storey covered with galvanized steel. \n\nIn between Denaut Hall and the Old Stone Mill is the salt shed (built in the 1920s, removed c.1960). The mill is not making flour at this time, it is selling Robin Hood flour.
Old Stone Mill, mid-1950s.\n\nWe don't have a date on this photo. Someone had written 1930 in ballpoint ink on the photo, but it's a colour photo (colour original) which indicates a much later date, as does the Blatchfords Feed sign and no flour signs. \n\nSo, although it has a horse and wagon, even into the 1960s, horse drawn conveyances were common in rural Ontario, including Delta. \n\nHere we see a farmer's wagon being loaded up with animal feed. The mill was selling Blatchford's Feeds. Blatchford was a large commercial producer of animal feed. We have a sign inside the mill showing the many feed varieties Blatchford offered.
South side of Old Stone Mill, 1957\n\nThis 1957 photo shows the south wall of the mill just before the mill closed in 1960. \nFrom left to right is the sawmill (behind the boathouse), the turbine hall (both c.1861) and the mill (1810). \nTo its right is the back of Denaut Hall showing the stone foundation that held up the brick upper storey. \nA window added in that foundation with the change in the 1920s to a Blacksmith Shop is visible. \nThe brick upper storey was removed in the early 1960s and replaced with the current galvanized steel covered wooden frame half-storey.


Old Stone Mill's Turbine Hall and Sawmill, 1957\n\nThis 1957 photo is the last view we have of the sawmill which was positioned on top of the bywash. \nAt some point in the early 1960s, likely just after MNR took over control of the bywash, the superstructure of the sawmill was demolished, leaving just the floor (which collapsed in 1968).
Old Stone Bridge, c.early 1960s - looking west\n\nThis stone bridge was built in the late 1860s or early 1870s replacing the original bridge on King Street, built in 1811. That 1811 bridge had a wooden decking with likely stone abutments. The bridge in this photo was torn down in 1963 and replaced with the current concrete bridge.\nOn the left is the Sexton House, later owned by Gordon Gray. It burned down on December 11, 1983.\nIn the background right is the Russell Store, built in the late 1800s, and had several uses. It was demolished in 2019\nIn the background left is the Old Stone Mill which is still standing thanks to the efforts of the Delta Mill Society.
Old Stone Bridge, c.early 1960s\n\nAnother view of the Old Stone Bridge (c. early 1870s to 1963).
Old Stone Bridge, looking east, c.1962\n\nThis is the start of the new dam construction in 1962. A coffer dam has been installed and the area dewatered in advance of laying the foundation for the dam.


Mill Pond, looking west, c.1962\n\nThe Old Stone Mill is just out of sight on the right. The former Russell store is on the left. This is part of the former mill pond that was adjacent to the mill.\nUpper Beverley Lake was formely two lakes, the water level raised in 1810-11 by a stoplog dam at the head of the mill's bywash. \nYou can see by the tone of stonework on the bridge the normal level of that pond. With the MNR dam constructed upstream (just on the other side of this bridge), the level of millpond in this basin dropped by 4.6 feet.\nThe MNR dam maintains the level of Upper Beverley Lake which is just a couple of inches higher than it was during the time (1812-1961) that the Old Stone Mill controlled the level of Upper Beverley Lake.
Head of the Old Stone Mill Bywash, c.1962\n\nThis is what is left of the framing for the stoplog dam that was at the head of the mill's bywash. MNR removed this structure and cemented in the walls. They did incorporate stop lock checks (holders) in case it ever needed to be blocked off again.\nYou can see the bare bedrock, this bywash dates to about 1861 when the Turbine Hall, which was placed over the original 1810-11 bywash, was built.
Old Stone Mill, South Side, c.1963\n\nThis photo shows Hastings Steele's house in the left background. Only part of the floor of the sawmill remains. That remaining floor collapsed in 1968.\nYou can also see that a large amount of backfill has been added behind the Blacksmith Shop (formerly Denaut Hall) with rocks added for erosion control.
Old Stone Mill West Side, c.1963\n\nA side view of the mill. Only a portion of the floor of the sawmill remains. \n It was in 1963 that the mill was deeded to four trustees who the formed the Delta Mill Society.\nAt that time the mill was in very rough shape, including a leaky galvanized steel roof.


Old Stone Mill late 1960s.\n\nThe sawmill is now completely gone leaving an open bywash. MNR would later add cement walls to both sides of the bywash.\nIn the background is Hastings Steele's house. It's unclear who owned it at this point (Hastings passed away in 1965).\n It suffered a severe fire on March 5, 1996 and had to be torn down.
Old Stone Mill, East Side, c.mid-1960s\n\nThe Old Stone Mill is owned by four trustees at this point with the Delta Mill Society working on restoration plans and fundraising to make that a reality.\nIt is in rough shape including a crack running down the left (south) side of the east wall (more visible in other photos) in addition to many other structural issues.
Old Stone Mill - 1972\n\nThis is a view of the mill just before the DMS started its initial restoration efforts in the fall of 1972 (shortly after incorporation and the transfer of the OSM from the trustees to the DMS). \nA sign above the main door reads "Old Stone Mill 1800", at that time the actual construction date of the mill wasn't known
Old Stone Mill, East Face, c.1972\n\nAnother view of the mill prior to any restoration. You can see the crack on the left side. \nAlso note that all the windows are 2 over 2, these would later be changed to the original 1810 configuration of 12 over 8 windows.\nThe car on the left is likely a 1961 Chrysler Newport and the car on the right a 1971 or 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu.


Old Stone Mill, 1985\n\nIn 1985, enough rehabilitation had been done to allow the mill to open to the public for a full season. At the time only the first floor was open to the public.\n\nThis view shows some of the 1972-1973 restoration work. Initial work was done to stabilize the building and then restoration, following a plan developed by Douglas R. Hough, Curator of Buildings and Machinery, Upper Canada Village was followed, including changing all the 2 over 2 windows to 12 over 8, the window configuration when the mill was first built.\nNote the sharp angle of the turbine tailrace arch, this was corrected with an arch that matched the shape of the original 1861 arch during heritage restoration in 1999-2003. See next photo.\n\nIn the background is Hastings Steele's house and you can see the cement wall put in by MNR in the bywash (MNR still owns the bywash).
Old Stone Mill in 2005\n\nThis photo dates to shortly after the massive heritage restoration of the mill (1999-2004) done by the Delta Mill Society. \n\n The restoration created the iconic showcase of the historic gristmill that can be seen today.


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