Morningstar Mill

{{Short description|Heritage site in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada}}

File:Morningstar Mill and Decew Falls.jpg

Morningstar Mill is a {{convert|2.98|acre|ha|adj=on}} heritage site located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The site includes the Morningstar Mill, a sawmill, the home of the Morningstar family, a barn used for blacksmith demonstrations, and the Decew Falls gorge along the Niagara Escarpment.{{cite web|title=Morningstar Mill - Proposal to Transfer Property and Program Operations to Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority|url=https://stcatharines.civicweb.net/document/39867|website=The City of St. Catharines|access-date=17 May 2021|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517180616/https://stcatharines.civicweb.net/document/39867|url-status=live}} The site is operated by the volunteer group Friends of Morningstar Mill and owned by the City of St. Catharines.{{cite web |title=MORNINGSTAR MILL |url=https://www.stcatharines.ca/en/experiencein/MorningstarMill.asp |website=The City of St. Catharines |access-date=17 May 2021 |archive-date=17 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517163210/https://www.stcatharines.ca/en/experiencein/MorningstarMill.asp |url-status=live }} The gristmill was restored to working condition in 1992.{{cite web |title=Morningstar Mill: Keeping history alive, a grain at a time |url=https://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/news/niagara-region/2017/05/24/morningstar-mill-keeping-history-alive-a-grain-at-a-time.html |website=Niagara Falls Review |access-date=17 May 2021 |archive-date=17 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517163210/https://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/news/niagara-region/2017/05/24/morningstar-mill-keeping-history-alive-a-grain-at-a-time.html |url-status=live }}

Early history

After the War of 1812, landowner John DeCou built a stone-grist mill with an overhead waterwheel at Decew Falls. The property was sold in 1894, after the first Welland Canal was constructed, as the mill no longer had an adequate water supply. In 1872, a new mill was built on the foundation of the former DeCou Mill. This new mill, called Mountain Mills, was built by Robert Chappel. The new stone-grist mill was turbine-powered instead of water-powered. Mountain Mills was purchased by the St. Catharines Waterworks in 1875 to prevent claims of water loss supply when the Beverdams Creek above Decew Falls was dammed. The mill was sold to Wilson Morningstar after water supply was restored.{{cite web |title=Morningstar Mill makes the cover of 'Old Mill News' – a US publication |url=https://stcatharinesmuseumblog.com/2016/04/04/morningstar-mill-makes-the-cover-of-old-mill-news-a-us-publication/ |website=The St. Catharines Museum |access-date=16 May 2021 |archive-date=16 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516223135/https://stcatharinesmuseumblog.com/2016/04/04/morningstar-mill-makes-the-cover-of-old-mill-news-a-us-publication/ |url-status=live }}

Morningstar would receive 1/12 of the flour or feed produced by the gristmill as payment.{{cite book |last1=Freeman |first1=Rich |last2=Freeman |first2=Susan |title=Bruce Trail: An Adventure Along the Niagara Escarpment |date=1998 |publisher=Footprint Press |pages=31, 32 |isbn=9780965697439 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R__grJnHo2wC |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518133454/https://books.google.ca/books?id=R__grJnHo2wC |url-status=live }} Morningstar also operated a blacksmith and carpentry shop on the property.{{cite magazine|magazine=Acorn Architectural Conservancy Ontario|title=Heritage tourism|issue=Spring 2020|page=30|last=Mackie|first=Carla|url=https://acontario.ca/files/res/105/Acorn_Magazine_Spring_2020%20web%20version.pdf}} In 1895, Morningstar rebuilt after a fire destroyed everything except the stone structure.

Later history

The location was reopened as a tourist attraction in 1962. Morningstar died in 1933 and his family operated the mill after his death. In 1983, the property was purchased by the City of St. Catharines. In 1992, Friends of Morningstar Mill was founded by volunteers with the intention of restoring the gristmill to working order,{{cite web |last1=Gannon |first1=Dennis |title=Yesterday and Today: Picturesque Morningstar Mill once a working mill |url=https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/life/local-history/2021/08/27/yesterday-and-today-picturesque-morningstar-mill-once-a-working-mill.html |website=St. Catharines Standard |access-date=17 May 2022}} successfully completing the project within that same year.

In 2020, the Morningstar Mill was closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.{{cite web |last1=Walters |first1=Karena |title=Morningstar Mill crowds were 'becoming dangerous for a lot of people,' St. Catharines mayor says as city shuts site down |url=https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/2020/06/19/morningstar-mill-crowds-were-becoming-dangerous-for-a-lot-of-people-st-catharines-mayor-says-as-city-shuts-site-down.html |website=The St. Catharines Standard |access-date=16 May 2021 |archive-date=16 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516223136/https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/2020/06/19/morningstar-mill-crowds-were-becoming-dangerous-for-a-lot-of-people-st-catharines-mayor-says-as-city-shuts-site-down.html |url-status=live }} In 2024, the city rejected a proposal that would transfer ownership of the property to the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.{{cite web |last1=Walter|first1=Karena|title=City holds on to Morningstar Mill |url=https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/city-holds-on-to-morningstar-mill/article_a28d488e-e2d3-5418-bf19-c6b477e19318.html |website=St. Catharines Standard |publisher=Niagara Falls Review |access-date=26 May 2024}} The mill was also closed that year to complete extensive renovations worth two million dollars, with plans to reopen in 2025.{{cite web |last1=Walter |first1=Karena |title=It's miller time: St. Catharines heritage site getting long-awaited $2M restoration |url=https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/its-miller-time-st-catharines-heritage-site-getting-long-awaited-2m-restoration/article_a95ff6c0-7a66-5317-8417-683ad955f54c.html |website=St. Catharines Standard |access-date=26 May 2024}}