Discover Toronto's history as told through its plaques

2004 - Now in our 14th Year - 2018

To see what's new on this site, you can visit the Home Page

Looking at this page on a smartphone?
For best viewing, hold your phone in Landscape mode (Horizontal)

"The Old Mill"

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted July, 2007

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted April, 2013

Photo Source - Toronto Archives Fonds 1568, Item 512

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted July, 2007

Yes, this is the old mill. The ruins were recently rebuilt as part of the Old Mill Inn at 45 Old Mill Road. An Etobicoke Historical Board and Etobicoke Historical Society plaque in a sunken garden just to the right of the scene in the photograph has this to say:

Coordinates: 43.650827 -79.493331

Click here for a larger map

The ruins standing here today are all that remain of a seven story flour mill built in 1848 to replace an earlier mill, both built by William Tyrrell of Weston for William Gamble, Etobicoke's first reeve. In 1881, the mill suffered the fate of earlier mills and was destroyed by fire. The ruins were designated under the Ontario Heritage Act of 1983.
The King's Mill, Toronto's first industrial building, was built in 1793 near this site, on order of Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, to mill lumber for the proposed town of York. German-speaking Nicholas Miller was the millwright, assisted by the Queen's Rangers.
The Old Mill Tea Garden Restaurant was opened in 1914 as a community amenity by Robert Home Smith, the developer of the Kingsway area.

Related webpages
William Gamble
Robert Home Smith
Kingsway

Other plaques that mention William Gamble
The King's Mill
The Lost Village of Milton Mills
St. George's On-The-Hill

Other Toronto plaques about mills
Early Don Mills
Early Mill Site
Gray Mill and Donalda Cattle Barn
Highland Creek Mills
The King's Mill
Silverthorn Family and Mill Farm
This Millstone
Todmorden Mills
York Mills

Other Humber River plaques south of Dundas Street
Discovery Point
Discovery Walks - The Shared Path
Étienne Brûlé
The Humber River
Lambton House
Samuel de Champlain's Journeys Through Ontario
Sir William Pearce Howland (1811-1907)

More
Industries

Here are the visitors' comments for this page.

> Posted May 27, 2013
I live in London, Ontario, and so love historic buildings. I moved here from Toronto in 2001. I really miss seeing this old structure when the trains passed through Old Mill Station.
Kelley Small ... [email protected]

Here's where you can send me a comment for this page.

Note: Your email address will be posted at the end of your comment so others can respond to you unless you request otherwise.

Note: Comments are moderated. Yours will appear on this page within 24 hours (usually much sooner).

Note: As soon as I have posted your comment, a reply to your email will be sent informing you.

To send me your comment, click [email protected].

Thanks
Webmaster

Note: If you wish to send me a personal email, click here.