In 1785, the Canadian government commissioned Robert Clark, a Loyalist millwright from New York, to build mills on this site. A sawmill was completed in March, 1786, and a grist-mill toward the end of that year or early in 1787. The latter was the first to be erected between Kingston and the Niagara peninsula. The mills were operated for a time by a government agent, James Clarke. In 1799 they were purchased by a prominent Kingston merchant, Richard Cartwright. They served settlers as far west as the Trent and formed the nucleus of the thriving community of Napanee.

Location

In Springside Park, Dundas Street or County Road 2, Napanee

Themes

• Buildings and structures
• Communities
• Industry and trade