HISTORY OF THE MILL
Settled in the mid-1800s on the banks of Shaw’s Creek (a tributary of the Credit River), the village Alton was once a thriving industrial centre. Now part of the Town of Caledon, Alton still boasts many historic buildings.

The two remaining 19th century stone mills in Alton have been converted into the Millcroft Inn and Spa, and the Alton Mill. A provincially designed heritage industrial complex, the Alton Mill is also listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Early history
In 1857 the provincial land surveyor (Charles Wheelock) surveyed Shaw’s Creek and identified nine mill privileges (eight of which were eventually developed). William Algie purchased mill privileges #5 and 6 from Kenneth Chisholm in 1880, and privilege #4 from Alexander Dick in 1893.

The existing mill complex and dam are situated on privilege #5, and the mill pond is situated on privilege #6 (as well as part of #5). Privilege #4 is located in Shaw’s Creek, directly west of Amelia Street.

Beaver Knitting Mill
Local industrialist and philanthropist William Algie built the complex in 1881 and established the Beaver Knitting Mill. The Beaver Knitting Mill was renowned across Canada for the production of fleece-lined long underwear.

Considered a “Free Thinker”, William Algie contributed significantly to the cultural life of Alton, promoting scientific learning and the arts through the construction of the “Science Hall” across the creek from the mill, and supported such community activities as a library, music and drama group.

Great Alton Flood of 1889
During the great Alton Flood of 1889, the weir and damn built by Algie held significantly longer than others along Shaw’s Creek, resulting in a much lower loss of life than could have otherwise been expected by a disaster of such magnitude. The Mill was flooded and its foundations damaged, but otherwise miraculously survived the Great Alton Flood relatively unscathed.

The Fire of 1908
Although the Mill survived the great Alton Flood of 1889, it wasn’t so lucky in 1908 when the Mill was struck by a disastrous fire. The fire reduced the original three-and-a-half storey limestone building to its present two stories and shed roof. The fourth storey of the water tower was also destroyed and rebuilt in poured concrete with a hip roof clad in cedar shake. Prior to 1913 and possibly associated with the reconstruction of the mill after the fire, a new two-storey stone addition was built on the east end of the old mill.

Source: Region of Peel Archives

Dods Knitting Company
Following William Algie’s death in 1915, the Beaver Knitting Mill was acquired by the Dods Knitting Company, which also owned Alton’s “Upper Mill” (the current location of the Millcroft Inn & Spa). The Great Depression and changing textile trends resulted in the closure of the Beaver Knitting Mill in 1932, with all machinery moved to the Dods’ Orangeville textile mill.

Western Rubber Company
In 1935 the Mill was sold to Frederick N. Stubbs, owner of the Western Rubber Company. Stubbs converted the Mill to manufacture rubber products, including balloons for Disney and condoms for Canadian servicemen during the Second World War.

The Mill remained in operation until 1982 and was the longest-running water-powered mill on the upper Credit River system.

Seaton Group
After passing through several owners, the vacant and deteriorating Mill was purchased in the 1990s by the Seaton Group. After struggling for a while to find a suitable use, Seaton’s principals, Jordan and Jeremy Grant have painstakingly rehabilitated the property into a stunningly beautiful arts and culture heritage centre, with a unique mix of art studios, workshops, offices for creative professionals, specialty retail, event space, a café and an industrial heritage museum (a tribute to the proud and storied history of the Mill itself).

Situated next to the lower mill pond and with the Pinnacle rising behind it, the Alton Mill complex remains an integral part of the village landscape and is significant as one of the last remnants of late 19th century stone industrial buildings in the region.

Historic & heritage attributes
1881 – Original mill construction:

  • Rectangular three-and-a-half storey gable roofed building of coursed local limestone.
  • 12 over 12 pane rectangular sash windows on each floor
  • Remnant walls remain of one story wool warehouse, presently known as the Annex
  • Remnants remain set into the bank of the east hill of the mill of another stone outbuilding, possibly used as a drive shed or livery.

1894 to 1904:

  • Rectangular, two-storey shed-roofed stone addition on the northeast corner, set flush with north façade of original mill.
  • Red brick chimney stack adjacent to boiler room.
  • Four-storey, gable-roofed stone water tower with red brick quoins set against the north façade of original mill building

1908 to 1913:

  • Original mill building reduced to existing two storeys and shed roof as a result of fire of 1908.
  • Fourth storey of water tower rebuilt in poured concrete with hip roof lad in cedar shakes after the fire of 1908.
  • Two-storey stone addition built on the east end of old mill, abutting south wall of the pre-1904 northwest corner addition.
  • New fenestration installed on south façade.
  • Mill now characterized by paired sets of windows, 6 over 6 pane sash with concrete sills and lintels on each floor, running entire length of façade.

1918:

  • One-storey stone addition, set mostly below grade, at the west end of the south faced, was installed to house a modern 50-horsepower hydraulic turbine, the first of its kind in the region.

1920s:

  • Rusticated concrete block addition built on east end of the livery, at which time the building was converted to a one-storey, shed-roofed garage with wooden bi-fold doors.
  • Steel truss bridge built over Shaw’s Creek, formerly served as main entrance to the Mill

1940s to 1950s:

  • Concrete block, shed-roofed addition, at the west end of the mill, originally used for coal stored and accessed from the west.

2000s:

  • Mill extensively rehabilitated
  • Modern mechanical, fire safety, floodproofing and accessibility features installed
  • West addition demolished and re-built with higher-pitched roofline and large windows.
  • New bridge and new abutments constructed to serve as pedestrian and emergency access and to help protect the building from floods.