ALEXANDER FEIR

     Born in Caledon, Ireland on December 30,1820, Alexander was educated in Newry and later learned the trade of millwright in what was know as Salter's Mill. At the age of sixteen he came to Canada with his parents and brothers and sisters. After settling in Ontario, Alexander put his training to good use. For a number of years he installed machinery in small mills in the Port Hope and Peterborough districts.

    On December 31,1846 he married Jane Best and over the next twenty-three years they had a family of ten children. The first child was born in Mount Pleasant, Ontario, where Jane Best's family lived and it is likely that Alexander met her while working in this district.

    In September or October of 1854, Alexander Feir and family arrived at what is now known as Feir's Mill on the banks of the Pigeon River. While installing equipment in other mills throughout the area, he likely kept his eyes open for a good spot to build his own mill and the fact that this property was already owned by his wife's family probably influenced his choice of location. The family arrived in a wagon over corduroy roads which were constructed to ensure that the wagons did not become permanently stuck in the mire.

    One report states that after literally hewing a home for his family out of the forest, he set to work to re-inforce the dam which was already there. Another report says that he built the dam himself and then went on to build the grist mill which was completed three years later. This appears the more likely as nineteen years later, Mr. Moore, a neighbour sued Alexander Feir for flooding his property. They settled out of court for $300.00, which gave Alexander the right to flood, in perpetuity, 17 3/4 acres of Moore's land.

    By 1861 the family was settled into their home, and they had 16 acres out of the 100 they owned cleared and under cultivation. The value of the farm at this time was stated as $1,000. During the previous year they had harvested 10 acres of spring wheat which yielded 150 bushels, 5 acres of oats yielding 200 bushels and 1 acre of potatoes yielding 100 bushels. In addition they produced or manufactured 40 lbs. of wool, 200 lbs. of Maple Syrup, 15 yards of fulled cloth and 20 yards of flannel. They had stored for the winter 200 lbs. of butter, 4 barrels of pork and 2 barrels of beef at 200 lbs. each. The livestock on the farm consisted of 2 horses over 3 years of age, 2 colts or fillies, 11 sheep and 4 pigs which had a total value of $250.00. Transportation for the family was provided by a pleasure carriage which they owned and valued at $10.00. Helping them on the farm in addition to their children was a hired hand by the name of James Forsythe.

    This information was declared at the time of the 1861 census report and the census in 1871 showed that the size of the farm had reduced to 60 acres but the number of acres under cultivation had increased from 16 to 25. The major change in the operation of the farm was that they now had a grist mill that was in operation year round. This employed two males over the age of 16 years and they were paid wages totaling $350.00 for the year. During the year they had ground 16 tons of wheat and oats at a value of $2,000 and did custom gristing for a further value of $2,400.

    Like many people who took up homesteading, Alexander concentrated on getting land under cultivation in order to support his growing family. When this was accomplished and he had sons old enough to help him he then started building his mill. The flour originally ground in the mill was yellow in colour because the whole grain was used and it was rough in texture. This continued for some time until the ladies of the area showed a preference for the white flour made by Flanell Milling Company in Lindsay which was a finer ground product. The main work that was now done at the mill was either custom jobs or commercial work.

    The construction at the mill took place over some 30 years from 1870 to 1900 and while many of the projects were new construction, there was also considerable upgrading done over this period. As mentioned above, the original grist mill was in operation before 1871. On Decmber 22,1881 Alexander received two new millstones weighing 3370 lbs. via the Midland Railway. These had been purchased from The Toronto Mill Furnishing Works at a cost of $150.00 and to complete the set-up there was a set of driving irons for $50.00 and a pinion and sleeve for $20.80. By 1900 the millstones had given way to grinders which considerably speeded up the operation and produced a much finer product.

    Alexander went on to build a sawmill for which he ordered from Wm Hamilton, Iron Founder, a circular saw at a cost of $115.00. This was purchased in January 1875 and would likely have been the start up of the sawmill. Several years later, April 1877, he purchased a flanged shingle saw for $29.00 and with the help of his son Isaiah built and operated a shingle mill. After the mill which was powered by steam, burned, Isaiah left and went to work for Campbell Milling Co. of Peterborough. Most of the equipment was run by water power and on September 22,1880 they received a new water wheel which weighed 3000 lbs. This was shipped from Milbrook again via the Midland Railway

    Prior to the roads being improved to the extent of making travel to the larger centres fairly easy, Feir's Mill, was a busy community centre for the area. In addition to the various mills which Alexander had built and operated on the site there was a blacksmith shop owned and operated by a young man named George Caldwell. He worked at Feir's Mill from the mid 1870s to early 1880s at which time he moved to nearby Mount Horeb and set up shop there. The record of accounts between George Caldwell and Alexander Feir for the period of 1876 to 1881 are still in exsistance and cover all the work that he performed in keeping the mill and farm equipment in good repair.

    Alexander continued to work the mill with the help of his son John until about 1900 when he turned the whole operation over to John. Alexander and his wife Jane then moved into Omemee where they lived until their deaths.

    John continued operation of the mill until 1913 when Isaiah once again took over and he ran it until 1926 when he sold it to Alfred Kemp. The land and business then passed through several owners before finally becoming a Bible Camp in 1965.