Mississippi Woolen Mill /Teskey Woolen Mill (1862)

• W 1/2, Lot 4 Conc 10, Ramsay Township on the Mississippi River.
• The Mississippi Woolen Mill was established in 1862 by Robert Teskey and William Bredin, proprietors (subsequently it was owned by brothers John Adam and William Rufus Teskey, and then by John Adam Teskey alone)
• The mill was then leased by Routh Brothers, Sheard and Company from 1868 – 1869.
• Following that it was leased by Lancelot Routh and Company 1870 – 1871.
• Changing hands again, it was leased from the Teskey family by Charles T Drinkwater and Son for use as a custom carding and woolen mill 1871 – 1872.
• The following year it was leased by John Wood in 1873.
• From 1879 – 1891, the mill was run by Milton Teskey from 1879 – 1891 except for interval 1889 – 1891 when it was leased to George Falla.
• The mill was operated by the Teskey family until 1901 when it was sold to Boyd Caldwell and Company.
• The mill had lain dormant for several years when it was purchased by William Collie in 1937. The Collie family operated the mill from 1937 – 1987.

At its peak had 300 employees. The Mills suffered two devastating fires in its 50 years of operation; the first in 1946 and the second in 1950. Yet they continued to operate for another 37 years!’

Image credit: North Lanark Regional Museum (2012.55.145.5), Donated by Sheila Babb and Ann E. Love