Silverthorne Grist Mill Ruins

Sharp Objects - rusty metal sticking out of the concrete and ground

Animals - its in a wooded area so there might be coyotes in the winter

Flooding - it was built on a historic flood zone and even has a measurer that goes up to 2 metres so it may be flooded up to 2 metres

Plants/Insects - in a wooded area again so there are lots of annoying plants and lots of mosquitoes anytime its over 20C

When John Beatty arrived in 1819 he brought the first settlers to the area. He built mills along the Credit River and founded Meadowvale. In 1831 Beatty sold his mills to James Crawford who opened saw and carding mills to compete with John Simpson who operated mills on lot 10 south of Derry Road. By 1836 Meadowvale had reached village status. In 1844 Francis Silverthorne took over from Crawford and greatly expanded the mill complex building a saw mill. In 1845 he added a large grist mill. When it burned in 1853 he got backing from the Bank of Upper Canada and rebuilt. During the Crimean War the price of flour had jumped from $1.50 per barrel to $3.00. Silverthorne stockpiled grain in an effort to take advantage but when the war ended in 1860 the price fell to $1.00 per barrel. When the Bank of Upper Canada foreclosed on his loan, William Gooderham, who was in charge of the bank, bought the property. Gooderham and Worts had also purchased Alpha Mills, north of Streetsville, the same year. Silverthorne retired to the family mansion, Cherry Hill.

After the Gooderhams the mill was owned by the Wheelers until 1895 when it was sold to Henry Brown. Henry restored the mill and returned it to full production. In 1906 he set about developing Meadowvale into a tourist attraction. The first step was to increase the size of the mill pond and create what came to be known as Willow Lake. He built a larger dam further north on the Credit to allow more water to be retained. By following the western wall of the former Willow Lake we were able to locate the remnants of this dam. Concrete remains can be found on both sides of the Credit River.