Industrial site.

Details of Site Location: The northeast corner of Bayview and Steeles.

PDMs: TBA

Boundary History: The mills and associated structures occupied approximately three acres.

Current Use of Property: Bayview Avenue runs directly over the location of the mill pond. Parkland surrounds the intersection on the south side.

Historical Description: The East Branch of the Don River crossed the northeast corner of Farm Lot 1 in Concession 2 East of Yonge. The Farm Lot of 190 acres ran east from Yonge along the south side of Steeles to Bayview. On this watercourse, Benjamin Fish built a distillery in 1828, followed by a dam, grist mill, and sawmill around 1830. In 1851, four people handled 9,000 bushels of wheat in the grist mill and 700 logs in the sawmill. Fire destroyed the mills, but Fish rebuilt, and in 1866 sold the mills to John Parsons. Parsons renovated the grist mill and employed George Morrison and Abraham Leonard as merchant and miller in 1871. James Reith became miller and grain buyer of the newly named Empire Mills in 1878. H.B. Schmidt bought the operation in 1883, made extensive alterations, and put in a system of rollers instead of millstones. The family lived in the house next to the mill and boarded the mill hands. Because of ill health, Schmidt was forced to sell in 1920 to W.H. Lever. In 1938, when Lever sold to Angus A. Macdonald, an artist, the mill was turned into a house. Charles Sauriol reported that the millhouse was a three-storey frame building, 80 by 40 feet, and 40 feet high. The mill was not painted but the window frames had been given a rosy hue. In the interior there were massive pine beams. At one time, while the distillery was in operation, the best whisky could be purchased here for 5 cents a cup. Finally, in 1965, in order to straighten the corner, the mill was torn down and the millpond filled in, and Bayview Avenue was extended to run directly over the location of the millpond.

Relative Importance: Mills were essential to the development of a region. Houses and other buildings depended upon the sawmill, and food preparation at home depended upon a grist mill to grind locally produced grains to flour. A distillery was a bonus and utilized grains that were not essential to domestic use. In this location, the Fish / Empire Mill was important to the development of a substantial area and the backbone of local communities. Its 110 years of operation is an extraordinary record of service.

Planning Implications: The site, as closely as possible and on the route of a path or walking trail, should be plaqued.

Reference Sources: City of Toronto Archives; Toronto Reference Library.

Acknowledgements:  Maps Project.