Memories of Ritchie Feed and Seed Carleton Place

Thanks go to Andrew Ritchie for these photos.

Hi Linda, I have some really good pictures of the opening,(1955) of Carleton Place Feed and Seed that my father owned (John and Sue Ritchie)–Mill Street Ritchie’s Feed and Seed. (Now Boulton Brown Condos on Mill Street).

My father did the grand opening from the Carleton Place hospital leaving my mother to handle the opening of the mill

On February 7, of 1970-a fire loss set at $100,000 gutted the mill house of Ritchie Feed and Seed mill in Carleton Place. Business was continuing as usual in the warehousing section of the mill which escaped the early morning explosion and fire. The 100-year-old mill,  was only partially covered by insurance and more than $40,000 worth of stock was lost in the blaze, along with milling equipment, and a 60-foot high grain elevator.

Howard McNeely centre and to his left is Andrew’s grandfather, Jack Ritchie

Andrew Ritchie’s Dad, the late John Ritchie leaning on the truck

You just have to love this photo!!

My grandfather and my mother(Sue Ritchie) at the microphone,

Norma Jackson My Dad , Norman Clark, used to work at Ritchie’s Feed and Seed in that old mill. My sister and I often walked there after school and my Dad would sift through the seeds in his pocket to give us five cents for a chocolate bar

Mindy Merkley Wow, that brings back some memories! I wasn’t born when it opened, but I certainly remember running around that area as a kid, jumping off the steps etc.

You can also read:

Ritchie Feed and Seed Part 3– The Egg Grading Station-Cecil Hicks — Larry Clark

Tales from Ritchie Feed and Seed — Larry Clark part 2

Tales From Ritchie’s Feed and Seed — Larry Clark — Story 1

Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place and The Tales of Almonte

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun  Screamin’ Mamas (USA)  and The Sherbrooke Record

The Condo Ephemera of Boulton Brown Mill

What’s in a Picture?- Mill Street– Ray Paquette

Down by the Old Mill Stream — Carleton Place

Memories of Ashton Station Road –Ashton Feed Mill –Jennifer Fenwick Irwin Photos

The Brown Flour Mill Stories

One of the Many Hauntings of Mill Street

Coleman Family History–Just for Your Records

Jumpin’ Around in Carleton Place — Local Urban Acrobats

The Condo Ephemera of Boulton Brown Mill

 

Photo –Horace Brown took this photo of his friend on top of his family’s flour mill on Mill Street in 1913. It’s the former Boulton Brown mill, on Mill Street, that is now converted into condominiums. Note that he is hanging onto that ladder for dear life – and the next time you drive down Mill street, note just how high that ladder really is! That is the Bates and Innes (MacArthur) Mill in the distance.  from  Jumpin’ Around in Carleton Place — Local Urban Acrobats

 

Found online

he local grist and oatmeal mills were bought by Henry Bredin from Hugh Boulton Jr.  They continued to be operated by James Greig (1806-1884), who ran these mills from 1862 to 1868 after the death of Hugh Boulton Sr., founder of this first industry of the community.

 

The Hugh Bolton Grist Mill at 35 Mill street and the Brown Flour Mill next door date from the late 1823. The five story addition was added in 1885 to accommodate a roller press mill. This mill actually operated until the 1960’s until a fire destroyed the interior. In the 1980’s it was converted into condominiums. The original millstone was found during the renovations and put across the street.  Hugh had ordered one from Scotland but it never arrived. (wonder what the shipping was on that one) So Hugh went up the river and got some made granite from up the river and carved his own.

 

When William Hill was head miller at H. Brown & Sons his brother in law Radford was also employed there. The two men presented a contrast in appearance with the former a small frail man while Radford a huge man. The larger sibling sometimes liked to astound onlookers by grasping the top of a 100 pound bag of Sunlight Flour in his teeth and swinging it onto his shoulder without using his hands.

 

Mary Peden with a background of the Carleton Place town hall and mills on Mill Street

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read. Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place.

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun andScreamin’ Mamas (USA)

Down by the Old Mill Stream — Carleton Place

The Brown Flour Mill Stories

One of the Many Hauntings of Mill Street

Coleman Family History–Just for Your Records

Jumpin’ Around in Carleton Place — Local Urban Acrobats

The Brown Flour Mill Stories

 

 

On Mill Street a four storey stone mill was built by Horace Brown, joined by a grain elevator to his former flour mill, and was equipped for the new roller process of flour milling.

The Carleton Place grist and oatmeal mills were taken over from William Bredin by Horace Brown (1829-1891), in partnership with W. C. Caldwell of Lanark, and were further equipped to manufacture wheat flour.

 

 

When William Hill was head miller at H. Brown & Sons his brother in law Radford was also employed there. The two men presented a contrast in appearance with the former a small frail man while Radford a huge man. The larger sibling sometimes liked to astound onlookers by grasping the top of a 100 pound bag of Sunlight Flour in his teeth and swinging it onto his shoulder without using his hands.

 

 

 

1906 Census
In 1906, Arthur R. Brown is seven years old and living in Carleton Place, Ontario, with his father Morton (37), a mill owner, and mother Mary E. (37). He has two older sisters, Margaret (13) and Bessie (11), and a younger brother, John H. (4). The family is Presbyterian.

 

 

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read. Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place.

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun andScreamin’ Mamas (USA)

 

The Drought of 1871 and the Mills on the Mississippi River

One of the Many Hauntings of Mill Street

A Postcard to Caldwell’s Mills

What Went Wrong with the Code Mill Fire in Innisville?

Down by the Old Mill Stream — Carleton Place

 

The Mules of the Number 1 Mill?

Hawthorne Mill–The Early Years– 1874 -1927

Minute to Minute– The Almonte Flour Mill Explosion

Explosion at the Almonte Flour Mill–Rob Armstrong‎

Tears From the Old Gears of the Mills

The Tiny Hamlet of Bellamy’s Mills 1851

Jumpin’ Around in Carleton Place — Local Urban Acrobats

Before there was parkour there was just plain tomfoolery. Some of it was going on the roofs of the local mills. I found one picture on the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum Facebook page and yesterday found out more information.

Horace Brown took this photo of his friend on top of his family’s flour mill on Mill Street in 1913. It’s the former Boulton Brown mill, on Mill Street, that is now converted into condominiums. Note that he is hanging onto that ladder for dear life – and the next time you drive down Mill street, note just how high that ladder really is! That is the Bates and Innes (MacArthur) Mill in the distance.

The boys used to climb the iron ladder on the Brown’s Flour Mill, get on the roof, and have a grand birds eye view of the town of Carleton Place. Jerry Armstrong, who did not know what fear was,almost caused heart failure in a few of his friends when he walked all around the edge of the roof and wound up looking like he was going to swan dive into the river. The aforementioned friends had a hard time getting back down to terra firma after that.