In the Company of Stone

The Priest's Mill's history — Legacy in the heart of Alexandria

Moulain An T'Saigart

The mill’s construction gave the hamlet, a popular destination for the early settlers, its first Gaelic name — Moulain An T' Saigart — which translates to Priest's Mill.

Among the Higlanders

  • 1804

    Reverend Alexander Macdonell purchased 500 acres of land on the banks of the river Garry, named after its namesake in Scotland, establishing the nucleus settlement that would become Alexandria.

  • 1819

    Grist mill “of very modest proportions” erected on the Garry River by Father Alexander Macdonell,  a parish priest from Glengarry Scotland. The original wooden structure stood on the south side of the river — near where the present-day mill is situated. The mill also served as a school.

  • 1844

    Lot 38 purchased by Donald Archibald MacDonald ushering in an era of prosperity & growth.

    A store, carding and fulling mills to support the wool farmers and an ashery to process forest waste brings prosperity. A sawmill was added downriver from the grist mill.

  • 1881

    Mill bought by McDonald & Kendal, overhauled and converted to a roller mill. “The massive roller mill is an object which at once arrests the eye of the stranger.” Glengarrium newspaper 11 August 1893

  • 1884

    Grist and carding mills destroyed by fire. The grist mill was rebuilt with stone on the site of the carding mill — its present location.

    Alexandria village incorporated.

  • 1885

    Mill sold to Messrs J & H Mooney who made further improvements to the mill over the next decade.

Fire causes lasting damage

  • 1896

    Mill lost to fire. Litigation would delay reconstruction for six years. As a result of this fire and another a month later that destroyed the St Lawrence block and Ms McDonnel’s millinery, Council reorganised the fire brigade with J Moony appointed as Fire Chief.

  • 1897

    Grist mill site & privileges for sale. Council issues standing offer to grant ten years’ tax exemption to anyone who would rebuild the mill.

  • 1898

    The upper part of the mill’s walls demolished down to second row of windows. Four year later, in June 1902, the Main street wall of the
    fire-ravaged mill collapsed.

  • 1902

    After a six-year lapse, Alexandria's business activity revived when A W McDougald & syndicate acquired the mill site, restored and enlarged the building we use today to a height of 70’.

    Alexandria officially incorporated as a town on 11 December 1902.

  • 1943

    In use by Graham Creamery at the time, the Mill was gutted by fire in December 1943. The grain elevator in the rear and the new Creamery building, built a year earlier in the unsightly hole on Main street, escaped the flames. Two years later this section of the Creamery was hit by a fire that gutted the Hub Restaurant.

  • 1950

    An era of prosperity ushered in as Mill Pond drained and shoreline cleaned.

Toast of the region

  • 1973

    Librarian Herman Nyland proposed that council acquires the Mill for $18,000 and advocates conversion into library and living cultural centre. Council declines but designates the mill historic.

  • 1979-1989

    Agnes & Ewen McDonald acquires mill, and opens the Priest’s Mill pub in the basement as a first step in rejuvenating and restoring the Mill to a useful condition. Over nearly a decade the award winning restaurant was the toast of the region.

    Artist, Jeroen Bosschaart and others astounded by the overwhelming excitement and interest, for an art exhibition hosted at the Priest’s Mill restaurant — an opportunity to expose  the  hidden talent in the area — and an opportunity prove to artists that area residents are interested in their work.

  • 1990-1992

    Harry Wilson, retired retail executive, acquires Priest’s Mill. He retains 41 out of 43 staff and assumes an active management role, believing the decade ahead would bring growth and that Alexandria could become a satellite community between Ottawa and Montreal.

    Wilson makes an honourable exit in 1992 — pays all 30 employees their full pay & benefits despite having to declare personal bankruptcy as restaurant closes  in poor economy.

    The closure is lamented as “leaving a tear in the fabric of this community”.

Dark days

  • 1993

    Murray Taylor and partner, Bob Morris leaves creditors, staff and municipality out of pocket as Priest's Mill Restaurant closes abruptly.

  • 1994

    North Glengarry News imagines the
    attraction of a town that fosters its heritage and talents — calls to create a space for artists and artisans.

    Sauer family acquires the Mill & restaurant with the support of former chef Tom Zettler, under whose leadership the restaurant was fêted as far afield as Ottawa and Montreal in the 80s.

  • 1997-1999

    Following two years of wrangling and calls to ensure the Priest's Mill’s survival, the Annex, built in 1857, was demolished in November 1999. The North Glengarry News urges a conversation about the Priest's Mill's future, a key to revitalizing the downtown. “…the biggest For Sale sign of all… foretelling that the storied Priest's Mill is about to become an ugly broken tooth on the face of Alexandria.” Council clerk, Leo Poirier added: “That building is the foundation of our town today”.

Rebuilding

  • 2000

    Barry and Mary MacDonald acquires the Priest's Mill and embarks on 25-year-long, and counting, stewardship of this historic building. The Heritage Group celebrates the MacDonalds' intentions to "respect the heritage of the building” by declaring that "the architectural foundation of Alexandria has been given a new lease on life".

  • 2001…

    The McDonalds make a substantial investment to renovate the building and teams up up with brothers, Dan and Alain Giroux, who had a proven track record in the restaurant business to re-open the Priest’s Mill restaurant. Barry MacDonald step away from the restaurant business in 2004 to focus on his other business interests.

  • Restaurant

    Dianne and Lucas van Barneveld re-opens the restaurant in 2009 only to be knocked out by fire, which caused severe smoke damage, shortly after the reopening.

    2017

    Adriano and Marie Troli opens the North Glengarry Restaurant — a very popular spot amongst locals and visitors alike. Well worth the visit.

Cultural Aspirations

  • 2014

    Priest’s Mill Glassworks opens in centre block, breathing new life into the mill's ground floor after it stood unused for nearly 40 years.

    “It’s part of the overall plan to restore the entire building — to make it useful. The long-term view is that we would have a centre for the arts…”  Barry MacDonald | Glengarry News | 2014-04-02

  • 2016…

    A committee consisting of Barry MacDonald (Chair), Eric Covington (Treasurer) and Dean Smiley (Secretary) partners with Your Arts Council of Cornwall and the Counties under the arts group's ‘incubation’ program to create the Priest's Mill Arts Centre.

    Priest's Mill Arts Centre incorporates as a not-for-profit organisation in 2020.

  • 2023

    Lourens Joubert takes the reigns at Priest's Mill Arts Centre, on an at-risk basis, to regularise the Centre’s affairs, spearhead its rejuvenation, develop its potential and see it become financially self-sufficient and sustainable.

    New gallery opens to the public in July 2024 with a cadre of more than 30 artists.

    Learn about PMAC's rejuvenation.

Photographs courtesy of Patron Mary MacDonald and the Glengarry Archives.