The Campaign

The Mill Has Been Deemed UNSAFE

In March of 2015 Needler’s Mill was deemed unsafe by the Chief Building Official of Cavan Monaghan Township.  The owner of the Mill, Otonabee Region Conservation Authority (ORCA) declared the Mill as surplus and gave the Township of Cavan Monaghan right of first refusal to purchase the mill for $1.

On July 6th Cavan Monaghan Township council decided not to purchase the mill for $1 from ORCA. That decision opened the door to allow ORCA to sell the building privately. If no one purchased the building, then ORCA would have it demolished, putting an end to more than 200 years of Millbrook's history.

On August 20th 2015, ORCA informed the Millbrook Historical Society that their bid for the purchase of the Mill was successful provided they can meet the requirments of the unsafe building order.

In order to meet these requirements, the Mill must be placed on a new foundation in order to preserve it for future generations. We need your help to raise the money to complete this important work.

Phase 1

Move the Mill onto a New Foundation

The first step was to acquire ownership of the building which is complete. Now we must move the Mill onto a new foundation just to the west of its current location. The Mill must be moved for a variety of reasons which include:

• Restoration of the Dam requires clear access to the Penstock, Berm and Spillway. The Mill in its current location would make work on these parts more difficult and costly for construction crews.

• The ground is saturated and unstable underneath the Mill in its current location.  By constructing the new foundation on sturdier soil beside its current location, costs can be dramatically reduced.

Budget to move the Mill onto its new foundation:

Based on current bids:

Soil Tests & Engineers Report         $10,000

New Foundation Construction        $35,000

Lifting Mill onto new Foundation   $25,000

HST                                                 $10,400

Contingency                                   $ 9,600

TOTAL                                             $90,000

Work is scheduled to be finished by October 31st 2015

Phase 2

Restoration of the Exterior

Once the Mill has been secured onto its new foundation, our second phase will be to give the exterior a refresh with some new paint, replace worn boards and address other cosmetic issues. We plan to heavily utilize local volunteers for this phase of the project.

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