Ontario Abandoned Places will be rebranded as Ominous Abandoned Places

The Old Lowery Mill

Historic Location Mill/Foundry in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, Canada

Oct 21 2012

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Recent status Historic Location
Location # 5656

This is an all-but-unknown historic location in Niagara that has almost been lost to history. No plaque or historic marker of any kind can be found here. There may not be too much to see or photograph, but the intent with this entry is the survival of the past. Databases like these may one day be the only repository for forgotten locations like this.

In 1792 a sawmill and dam stood here, built by Sampson Lutz (Lutes). Genealogical data indicates that Lutz settled in Niagara in 1783 as one of Butler's Rangers. In 1814, the sawmill was burned down by retreating American troops and a few decades later, it was rebuilt as a stone flour gristmill. By the 1890s, the mill's ownership was taken over by the Lowrey family and was converted to a fruit processing and canning plant. Unfortunately, in 1923, the factory was destroyed by fire and never rebuilt.

All that remains are the mill footings, brick walls and a waterwheel pit. Construction of the nearby Cangro industrial mall and parking lot almost wiped the location out completely in the 1990s.

Comments

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11 years ago

An archaeologist recently published a full listing of old mill sites along Four Mile Creek. Despite hiking out to several of them, this was the only one I could find that had any visible signs left over.

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11 years ago

How do you know a place like this is even there?

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11 years ago

Great find! Looks like my next visit when I'm in the area.