The Mill of Isidore Cardinal

In 1885, Isidore Cardinal purchased a 100 acre property from Honoré Cotte just north of Montreal Road, on the creek that we now know as the Cardinal Creek. The dam and the mill were already in place when Isidore Cardinal purchased the property. The mill can be seen on this old photograph. The mill remained in operation until 1957 (source: The Caboose – March 2005 edition).

Isidore Cardinal's mill - le moulin de Isidore Cardinal

Isidore Cardinal's mill - le moulin de Isidore Cardinal

Today on the location of the mill stand the ruins of the dam and the mill. Below are some pictures taken in the fall of 2012.

First, what remains of the mill are foundation walls and structures on the ground. A young forest has grown since the mill was closed.

The Cardinal Mill ruins - Les ruines du moulin Cardinal

The Cardinal Mill ruins - Les ruines du moulin Cardinal

Turning the camera towards the creek, we can see that portions of the dam are still standing. Forty years ago, this happened to be favourite location for young people to enjoy the creek on summer days. People could jump from the wall of the dam into the creek. Today the water levels are too low due to urbanization upstream in the watershed.

The dam, seen from where the mill used to stand

The dam, seen from where the mill used to stand - Le barrage, vu des ruines du moulin

Turning the camera back towards the mill, standing in the creek, we can see a wall which appears to be channel for the water to enter into the mill (or was it for logs?)

Channel for water

A channel runs on top of the wall - Une canalisation au sommet du mur incliné

The next picture shows a circular feature near the bottom of the water conduit.

A circular feature on the water conduit - Un système circulaire sur le conduit d'eau

A circular feature on the water conduit - Un système circulaire sur le conduit d'eau

On the next picture, we can see a reservoir where the water went after it left the conduit:

A reservoir - Un réservoir

A reservoir - Un réservoir

Now looking at the water outlet, downstream from the reservoir, nearly at the same elevation:

The water outlet - La sortie d'eau

The water outlet - La sortie d'eau

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