Our History

In 1811, Peleg Spencer had leased land by the South Nation River before building a wooden dam and a sawmill on the south bank to serve settlers in the backwoods of Edwardsburgh Township. After Peleg’s son David purchased the land in 1831, he became the official founder of Spencerville. By 1851, David’s business included a saw and gristmill on the south bank and a carding and fulling mill on the north bank.

A fire destroyed the gristmill in the early 1860s. David sold the land to his daughter Mercy and her husband Robert Fairbairn, and he rebuilt the gristmill in 1864 on the north side of the river. He added four grinding stones and a steam engine which allowed the mill to operate year-round.

The mill was, again, gutted by fire in 1884 and rebuilt within the remaining stone walls. These stone walls, along with the 1887 interior, can still be seen today.

In 1912, Justin Fletcher Barnard purchased the mill, beginning a family business which lasted for the next 60 years. By 1927, Barnard’s sons Percy and Walter were continuing to add to the mill. One of them replaced the existing waterwheel with a refitted Barber turbine waterwheel, purchased from Chas. Barber & Sons of Meaford and installed it in August of 1934. The turbine waterwheel nearly doubled the horsepower of the mill, increasing it from 60 to 110.

The Barnard family continued to expand the business as wholesalers and distributors of feed supplies, various grades of flour, and farm merchandise. A hardware store was added in 1955 by Percy’s sons Morgan and Ted.

Ted Barnard continued to run the family milling business until the mill closed entirely in 1972. The Mill’s original retail store and the family name is now commemorated as Barnard’s Emporium which today is still in business, offering quality handcrafted goods for sale and displaying a variety of heritage artifacts which speak of the living past.

The Spencerville Mill was purchased by the South Nation Conservation Authority in 1985. Since then, major restoration work has been completed including the celebratory opening of the upper level in 2015, which was attended by local volunteers, elected officials, donors, and Mill Foundation Board members.

Today, the Mill is also a museum “where history lives and breathes.” Along with displays of original artifacts, new exhibits illustrate the history of the Mill and how it was operated. The Mill preserves an important aspect of the history of Edwardsburgh Cardinal Township and stands as a testament to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the business people and families who first developed a Spencerville community. Research on these original families is underway as part of developing additional displays for the interest of Mill visitors and local residents who strongly support the preservation of the village’s most unique building and what it stands for.