James C. Bolton Era 1845 – 1855

James Cupper Bolton (James Jr.) Era  1845-1855

• James Cupper Bolton was 33 years old when he acquired ownership of the grist mill from his uncle George Bolton ¹
  
• He then proceeded to construct a much larger grist mill about 300 meters downstream. The new mill would be built close to the site of the 1830 log schoolhouse, immediately east of where Humber Lea Drive now crosses the Humber River ²
• The steeper hillside location provided the necessary height for three run of stone.  However, relocating the mill was a massive undertaking taking at least 18 months and included hand digging a long mill race in the heavy clay soil ³
• The final section of the mill race was tunneled through the hillside to the NW corner of the mill where a wooden flume channelled the flow to the water wheel ⁴.  Water exiting from the water wheel re-entered the original river course
• But there remained the question of how to manage the flow from the river itself which would have separated the mill from access to King Street
• James Jr. bought several lots from his brother Charles and led the river water away through what is now referred to as the oxbow ⁵. He also built a community ‘Bake House’ on one of these lots ⁶
  
• The new grist mill, on a stone foundation, stretched up four storeys, its timbers supported by double sets of braces.  It incorporated most of the original mill structure but was over twice its size and had exterior basement access on the lower side of the slope ⁷
• The mill was grinding grain by the fall of 1846 ⁸ 
  
• On the original mill site along Mill Street, James Jr. built a saw mill ⁹.  Sometime later, a ‘Cloth Factory’, also known as a wool shoddy, was built by adjacent to it ¹⁰
• James was not adverse to risk and with his astute decision to enlarge the mill he benefitted not only from the increasing local demand but also from Britain’s 1846 repeal of their corn laws which opened up the UK market to imported flour

• Through the late 1840s, demand continued to increase and in 1850 James Jr. enlarged the mill again, re-doubling its size ¹¹
• James also built a large cottage and stables along King Street East for his family, his wife Ellen Godbolt and their sons Martin and Lewis ^{12  13}
• The Crimean conflict in the early 1850s and the resulting blockade of Russian wheat from western Europe drove export demand for Canadian flour even higher
• In 1855, James decided to sell out.  He left Bolton with his family and took up farming in the Township of Wallace, Perth County (east of Listowel) ¹⁴
  

 

And the buildings?

• A second smaller dam was added in 1846 (see panorama of the river and millrace as well as the 1854 map)
• The millrace, excavated by hand between 1845 and 1846, was filled in during the early 1970s, after the grist mill building was demolished in 1967.  The millrace together with the former mill pond became Bolton Mill Park, created through the efforts of the Rotary in the mid-1970s
• Two early mill worker cottages, #122 King Street East and #132 KIng Street East still stand.  Both are marked on the 1854 map.