

Photos from Stephen Moore –By the vintage of the Volkswagen bus I would say the last photo is approximately 1970-Perhaps you could ask folks to see if anyone knows what that building was for on the right side.

Once upon a time at the McArthur Mill. I received this picture from the owner of the mill and Kenwood Industries, Mr. John Chapman. I would think this picture was likely early to mid 1960s. Not many people on your Facebook page will remember seeing this gear house I would suspect. Perhaps you could ask folks to see if anyone knows what that building was for on the right side. Check out the bell tower on the mill as well.
Mr. Chapman and his wife were classy people and he ran a very successful veneer cabinet company as well as being the landlord for rhe first Digital Equipment company location, wrangler Blubell jeans, a company that made aquatic vehicles and the company I worked for which was AMP Fiber Optics. That land along with the parking lot that was taken over by the town was all owned by Mr. Chapman. In the spring the river essentially ran through the basement several feet deep. Absolutely fascinating building.
Also from Stephen Moore

In 1870 Building of the first stone structure of the present Bates and Innes Woollen Mill was begun by Archibald McArthur and was completed a year later. The central building was five stories in height.
n 1872-In the McArthur cloth factory (now Bates & Innes) ten new looms were added. Napoleon Lavallee removed his hotel business to his large new stone building at the corner of Lake Avenue and Bridge Streets.
A fire loss of over $20,000 in 1877 destroyed the Cannon mill and the machinery of its lessee William H. Wylie, who moved to Carleton Place where he leased the McArthur (now Bates) woollen mill and later bought the Hawthorn woollen mill. The McArthur woollen mill, equipped to operate by waterpower of the lower falls, was leased and reopened by William H. Wylie when the country’s business depression became less severe.
John Gillies of Carleton Place bought the McArthur woollen mill at the present Bates & Innes site from its first owner Archibald McArthur. The reported price was 40,000. W. H. Wylie, lessee of the McArthur mill, bought the Hawthorne woollen mill from its new owner James Gillies at a price reported as $19,000.
McArthur Woolen Mill (1871)
- 105 Mill St, W 1/2 Lot 15, Conc 12 Beckwith Township.
- The Archibald McArthur and Company Woolen Mill was built in 1871 and was operated by the company until 1876. The woolen mill, equipped to operate by waterpower of the lower falls, was later leased and reopened by William H. Wylie in 1877 when the country’s business depression became less severe. Wylie operated the mill until 1881.
- It was then sold to John Gillies in 1882 and operated until 1900 under the firm name of J Gillies, Son and Company ; John and James Gillies; The John Gillies Estate Company Ltd .
- In 1900 it was sold to the Canada Woolen Mills Ltd who went bankrupt in 1904. The reason was stated to be loss of Canadian markets to British exporters of tweeds and worsteds.
- It was later sold to Bates and Innes in 1907. Bates and Innes Co. Limited equipped the former woolen mill as a knitting mill. In 1909 , the Bates & Innes knitting mill, after making waterpower improvements, began running night and day with 150 employees.
- It was and still operating in 1911 as a knitting mill.


It’s Photo Friday! This photo is of Sarah Evangeline McDiarmid. She’s posing at the base of the stone CPR underpass on Mill Street. Today it’s almost completely overgrown and unseen. Evangeline was born in 1889 and grew up in the big stone house at the end of McArthur Street, a daughter of William McDiarmid, store owner, and Mary Lavallee.


McArthur House on McArthur Ave near Barkers
McDiarmid Tennis Courts Photos Photos Photos
The Faeries of McArthur Island- Dedicated to the Bagg Children
The River Dance of the McArthur Mill in Carleton Place
The McArthurs of Carleton Place


October 1, 2021 ·
It’s Photo Friday again already!
This great candid photo of Mima Bond was taken on the south bridge to McArthur Island.
Mima McDonald was born in 1876. She and husband Harry Bond lived at Bridge Street where they raised 7 children and had side by side storefronts; his a barbershop, hers a wool and novelty shop. After Mima’s death in 1958, daughter Joie took over the shop – many still remember it as being a crazy cluttered space!
Check out the details in this photo! Mima’s fabulous hat! Her gloves! The detailing on her skirt and shoes! That box camera! Her beaded purse! Behind her is the stone Bates and Innes Woolen Mill, built in 1872 and without the brick addition to the north. The wooden bridge she’s sitting on was replaced with a concrete one in 1920..