Roblin's Mill

Roblin’s Mill

Beginning in 1842, Own Roblin owned and operated this mill in Ameliasburg, Ontario. The large water wheel powers the mill’s interior workings to grind grain into flour.

Through the 1860s most farmers in what is now Ontario grew wheat that was exported to Britain, the United States, and other British colonies. Providing a necessary step in the conversion of grain to flour, grist mill owners did quite well financially and employed a number of men to operate the mill.

In 1842 Owen Roblin (1806 – 1903), grandson of Phillip, U.E. (United Empire Loyalist), erected a 5 storey stone flouring mill which became the focal point for the village of Roblins Mills. The mill was powered by water, which came through a canal from Roblins Lake directly to the south. The water spilled 75 feet into the mill-pond… Using a 30 foot diameter overshot water-wheel and three run of millstone, the mill had a daily capacity of 100 barrels. At one time the mill complex included a bake shop, carding mill, saw mill, and post office. Operations ceased in 1920. After a long business decline, idle for many years, it was dismantled in 1963 and rebuilt at Black Creek Pioneer Village near Toronto…”

Roblin’s Mill. The mill: hub of industry and nucleus of a developing community. Photo: Elena

In the early 1800s, arriving settlers harnessed the abounding water supply and developed saw mills and grist mills along the banks of many Ontario rivers and lakes. Mills complexes were hubs of industry and frequently became the centre of burgeoning communities.

“In the case of Ameliasburg, it was Owen Roblin who erected the mill which formed the nucleus of a village. This afterwards developed into a prosperous and busy little town – called from the mill and its owner, Roblin’s Mills…

Roblin’s Mills at the present time contains several good general stores, a first class carriage shop, a harness shop, the usual number of blacksmith shops found in places of similar size, a very home-like and comfortable temperance hotel, and about 300 inhabitants.”

Historical Sketch – XVIII – Ameliasburg – 1878.

“There is a saw-mill, shingle-mill and cooperage, attached (to the mill building), and this being a very favourable locality for apples, of which large quantities are grown, a considerable trade is done at these premises in apple barrels (Historical Atlas 1878).

The 30” diameter water wheel was located between the two buildings. A Masonic Lodge was located on 2nd floor between 1869 and 1913.

Mill was powered by water brought under the road by canal from Roblin’s Lake.

Roblin’s Mill Flour. The Mill: Technology: “fair to middlings”. Photo: Elena

“Owen had three sons… Edward who lived in the unusual octagonal house… succeeded Owen as miller; Roger who never married… operated a cider mill and evaporator for drying apples; and Arnold… who… became a bookkeeper in Toronto”.

Roblin’s Mill demonstrates the complete milling process. The operation is a flat grinding system, one which grinds as close as possible to make the most flour at one grinding.

Cleaning: Grain was held in a hopper until it was elevated to the top floor of the mill for cleaning. It was passed through a revolving screen and a smutter to remove foreign matter such as dust, dirt, twigs, etc. The grain was stored in a holding bin until it was dropped down a chute to the millstones.

Grinding was done by two huge stones six feet in diameter and about 18 inches thick, the upper stone (the runner) revolving and the bottom one (the bedstone) remaining stationary. Thee upper stone turned at about 106 rotations per minute.

Bolting: In Custom Milling the flour was taken to a Bolting Reel which sifted the chop or meal, the ground grain, and separated out any parts of the wheat kernel not completely broken down. The product was a coarse grade flour.

Roblin’s Mill. Photo: Elena

In Commercial Milling large quantities of wheat were milled in a run and the resulting meal was hot, requiring cooling in a hopperboy before bolting.

The meal was then passed down to the Bolting Chest, a larger and more complicated system of various gauges of screening which sifted the grind into – superfine white flour, second grand flour, middlings, shorts, bran and tailings; the latter two were sold as pig feed.

Packing: After bolting the flour fell through chutes to be bagged or barreled. The barrels were stencilled with the miller’s brand name returned to the customer or shipped to the merchants.

Commeercial Milling was the main part of production at Roblin’s Mill. During the mill’s heyday, at the time of the U.S. Civil War, it operated 24 hours a day, producing up to 100 barrels per day, with much of the flour being shipped to the northern states.

As the quality of the flour depended on the grooved surface of the stones, they had to be dressed twice a month when the mill was running a non-stop commercial operation.

Custom milling was a small part of the mill’s production whereby the farmers paid for their grinding by toll: e.g. for grinding 15 to 20 bags of grain, the miller would keep one bag of grain in payment.

Engines Roblin’s Mill. Roblin’s Mill Interior. Photo: Elena