In 1876 a steam grist mill, with two run of stone, was built in Emerson by Mr. Charles Borrow. Press reports indicate that the HBC renovated a large Flour Mill in 1884 . At various times a mill called the Stauffer Mill, and ones owned by Fraser & Co. and Pocock & Sons were in business.

In 1881 Messrs. Carney & Watson built a sawmill which had the capacity of turning out 25,000 feet of lumber per day, using hard wood taken from their own timber, located on the Red River, a few miles south of town. 

Noble and Follis manufactured common lumber, doors, sash, blinds. Their factory was located on Main Street, and consisted of one building 24x54 feet in area, with two flats; also an, addition of 16x50 feet. They employed about twenty-five hands.

Edward Sabin & Co. were general carriage, sleigh and cutter manufacturers.  In connection with their manufacturing they conducted a general blacksmithing, shoeing and repair shop.

Press  Clips

S: Commercial, September 4, 1883, p. 413.
“The Hudson Bay Company have decided to reopen their large flour mill here. Water is to be supplied the mill from a drain from the river up which water will be forced by windmill power. A warehouse with a capacity of 12,000 bushels is to be built alongside the mill. The company will also build a 20,000 bushel elevator at the station.”
S: Nwfmm, October 1883, p. 254.
“The HBC are building a large grain storehouse next to their mill at West Emerson.”
S: AM, January 1, 1884, p. 28.
“The addition to the Hudson Bay Company’s mill at Emerson, Manitoba, is nearly completed. It is proposed to convey the water supply from the Red River by means of a trench to a reservoir beneath the mill.”
S: Commercial, July 8, 1884, p. 805.
“The Emerson steam grist mill commonly known as Stuaffer’s Mill, was sold on the 2nd inst., under a foreclosure of mortgage, and was purchased by Mr. Curran for $4,220. It will be put in operation of Monday the 7th.”
S: AM, August 1, 1884, p. 430.
- “Stauffer’s Mill”, at Emerson, Manitoba, was sold July 2 under a foreclosure of the mortgage. It was purchased by Mr. Curan for $4,220. It was put in operation July 7.”
S: AM, April 1, 1885, p. 194.
“At Emerson, Manitoba, on Mach 30, James Watson was killed by the bursting of the fly-wheel of a grain crusher, and Mr. Van Wert was wounded in the arm.”
S: Nwfm, January 1892, p. 24.
“Fraser and Company’s grist mill at Emerson, Manitoba is running to its fullest capacity.”
S: Commercial, 8th Annual Supplement, p. 634.
- Owner: Fraser and Company with 300 barrel day capacity.
S: CMGE, March 1910, p. 75.
- “The German Milling Company has bought Pocock and Son’s mill at Emerson, Manitoba.”

West Lynne

West Lynne Charter for the incorporation of West Lynne was granted in l882. The town was laid out twenty four blocks long and three and one half blocks wide.

West Lynne boasted of four general stores; six hotels and a brewery, where a six quart pail could be purchased for fifteen cents. They also had a pop factory and a cheese factory.

Press reports indicate several flour mills operated for a time.

Press Clips

S: HBCA, D.20/16 – 1880.
- J. Ogden Grahame to J.A. Grahame, May 5, 1880, fo. 139 – mentions memo regarding new mill to be built there.
- C.J. Brydges to J.A. Grahame, May 6, 1880, fo. 141 – regarding erecting mill and granary: "I am satisfied it is better than letting anyone else do it and it will materially help your store and the place and surroundings generally."
- J.H. McTavish to J.A. Grahame, July 5, 1880, fo. 441 – laid out sites for mill and granary at West Lynne: "the same as those chosen by yourself ;" Kenway received only 1 tender for $5,000 which shouldn't be accepted until estimate made."
S: HBCA, D.20/23 – 1882
Ronald McLaren (St. Boniface) to J.A. Grahame, June 15, 1882, fo. 144
- offer to move "flouring mill" at West Lynne and Erect same on a new site about 300 feet from its present position as specified in advertisement;" 20 feet addition to end of building; new engine room; sink well; for $8,860.00.
- fo. 149 – copy of call for tenders
Charles Esplin to J.A. Grahame, June 17, 1882, fos. 150-155 – tender
- D. Matheson (W.L.) to J.A. Grahame, June 20, 1882, fo. 164 – Emerson mill offering 95 cents per bushel; Ogilvie Company paid $1 for 2000 bushels delivered at Emerson station.
S: HBCA, D. 20/25 – 1883
D. Matheson to J.A. Grahame, January 5, 1883, fos. 6 and 6d
- This fall when the mill was being re-erected I had two wells sunk to the depths of 24 and 30 feet, getting water in both cases at 12 feet but not in sufficient quantity to run the mill and I have not the means of going deeper. A supply could have been brought from the River at an expense (before frost set in) of $700.00, but as you were absent I did not feel at liberty of going to the expense."
- mill is idle; feels bad grain would prevent profitability in any case; "and now that grains are being run on the Pembina Mountain Branch of the C.P.R. all the Western grain hitherto sold here, will be marked at Smuggler's Point and other stations along the line."
S: G.F. Tennant (Mayor, West Lynne) to J.A. Grahame, March 20, 1883, fos. 266-267 - urges Company to operate mill or leave it; present mill prevents others from operating
S: HBCA, D. 20/31, 1884.
D. Matheson to J. Wrigley, November 10, 1884, fo. 24 – took possession of mill on a "landlord's warrant"; to be put up for sale; engineer wishes lease transferred to him, "but he thinks the conditions are too exacting and the rent too high."
"It is reported that the Hudson's Bay Company's mill, at West Lynne, will be remodelled to the roller system."




Manitoba City

Manitoba City was yet another ambitiously named community. By 1883 it had become a roaring town with six licensed hotels, two liquor stores, five livery stables, three lumber yards, a Medical Hall which housed the drug store but also held offices for out of town doctors and other businessmen to set up appointments, an undertaker, and numerous grocery, hardware and implement outlets. Seven Justices of the Peace were appointed in an attempt to keep the boom town under control. 

Alas a bit of a turf war, worthy of a modern industrial intrigue movie, ended with Manitoba City giving way to its rival Manitou – a competing village located just on the other side of the new railway line.

The story, involving, land speculators, sharp lawyers, crooked CPR managers, and a general assortment of shady deals, is well told on several of the Manitou local histories.

Like quite a few boomtowns – it had a grist mill – but the life of the town, and thus the mill, was short.

Manitou

In 1881 John McIntosh started a small mill at Norquay, north of Swan Lake and in 1893 moved the mill to Manitou as Manitou Roller Mills.
The building was a black, two story, box-shaped structure. On the second floor were a track and push-car and a storeroom. The bags of feed and flour were placed on the moved to the chute on the south side o f the building. The customer's vehicle backed under the chute and the bags slid down. 

The local newspaper reported: “Any institution that is a means of drawing trade to a town is of necessity an important factor in the prosperity of that town.“ 

Business from a wider radius gravitated to Manitou. Farmers could deliver wheat to the mill, drop milk off at the cheese factory, exchange eggs and butter for groceries at the store of their choice, have a square meal at the hotel for a few cents, spend an afternoon catching up on news around the stove at the livery barn, then late in the day pick up flour ground from their own grain. They usually took home the bran and shorts to be made into mash for the livestock. Screenings from the cleaner provided fuel for the mill along with cordwood brought in exchange for milling services. Often no money needed to change hands.

Revisions included a new seventy horsepower boiler, all that was needed to keep the mill up to date.

An ad from 1899 stated: Manitou Mills - Grinding done promptly, Chopping on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Best Hungarian Flour - $1.80. Best Strong Bakers Flour - $1.60.

A Mr. Whiteford operated it until the early 1920's when it was closed.


The Manitou Creamery and Cheese Factory Company

The cheese factory was managed by Mr. Story and Mr. Boyle. After initial reluctance of Winnipeg outlets to pay a fair price, the superior quality of the product was eventually recognized in Winnipeg and good prices were offered.
Pump Factory
In January 1885, the Manitou Mercury reported that Mr. Lane had a pump factory, which had been a successful operation for some time.
In 1889, H. C. Pierce also opened a pump factory. He sold out to C. R. Gordon in 1891 and went to Hartney to set up another pump factory.
In the fall of 1888, John C. Findlay opened a wagon shop on Ellis, adjacent to Waldie and Scott's implement business. It became a steam pump factory for which he imported Tennessee white wood, apparently, the best material to use.
Sash and Door Factory
Two sash and door factories once operated in Manitou.
Carriage Makers

Alfred Morris and Jonathan Hughes were both carriage makers who operated out of Manitoba City, after starting out in Archibald.
In  1908 Joe Cumberland has opened a general carriage and repair shop.
Allan and Pilgrim Soda Water Works;
Messrs. Allan and Pilgrim began the bottling of Cream Soda 1885. Mr. Pilgrim died in December of that year while Mr. Allan continued to operate the factory until April of 1887.

Archibald

One route settlers might follow to get to the area near Manitou, was the Brandon House Trail, one used by fur traders at based a Pembina. In 1878 Alexander Bethune travelled this way to his homestead. He opened a store and a Post Office was opened in the home of neighbour, Mr. Davidson.  Although that was the extent of the buildings in the “village” of Archibald, there were a few businesses nearby, including a second store. J. Hughes was listed as a carriage maker, as was A. Morris.


Press Clips

S: Commercial, April 8, 1884, p. 545.
“Mr. W. Thompson and Mr. Brown, have undertaken to erect an oatmeal mill, at Manitou, of 125 barrels capacity, for a bonus of 10,000 bushels of oats, to be completed and running by the 1st of November next.”
S: Nwfm, December 1889, p. 340.
“A meeting was recently held at Manitou to discuss the advisability of trying to induce A. Watts and Company, of Brantford, Ontario, to move their grist mill from Norquay to Manitou. After discussion and conference with the representatives of A. Watts, and Company, a committee was appointed to canvass the town and district for subscriptions for a bonus of $600 to pay the expenses of moving the mill. The mill can be in running order by May 1 next.”
S: Nwfm, March 1890, p. 433.
“The building at Manitou, into which the machinery of the Norquay Grist Mill is to be removed, is about completed, and the mill will soon be running.”
S: Nwfm, April 1890, p. 461.
“The boiler for Manitou, Manitoba grist mill has arrived there from Brantford. Work on the Mill is progressing rapidly under the management of George Ullyott.”
S: Nwfm, June 1890, p. 522.
“The new mill being built at Manitou will have five set of rolls. J.D. McIntosh has purchased an interest in the mill and with his brother will manage the business.”




 




Along the old Boundary Trail, at a point just west of Calf Mountain, there was a conveniently flat spot on the Little Pembina that made a good crossing. As often happened at crossings, a small village sprang up. This one was called Darlingford. Like so many other villages it started at one spot and re-started at another when the railway arrived. In the meantime it served the needs of travellers and settlers, providing some necessities.  Along with stores, stopping places and a post office, there was a saw and grist mill was run by thye Findlay Brothers. 


The new site of Darlingford grew quickly along the railway line. Along with the usual stores and services there were two brickyards. About 1898 Whalen’s Brick & Tile operated just west of the village. It must have been quite an operation for the CPR ran a spur out to the site, and he employed about ten people for a time. Although the bricks were of a good quality, the operation didn’t last.
 

Another promoter opened the Darlingford Brick & Tile Co. Ltd., south of the railway tracks. This operation was quite successful, and on August 4, 1910, the Darlingford Comet reported that:  “Manager Lewis Coc has, at present, 90000 bricks at his disposal, with orders for at least  200000 in demand. Hinds and Mitchell, contractors of Winnipeg, have already ordered one million bricks and the Hanbury Manufacturing Co. of Brandon have ordered 1200000 bricks”

Despite this, it was tough to compete when a Winnipeg producer lowered its price in an effort to capture the market. Apparently this was a factor in other small yards.

Lime Kiln

Limestone, which was abundant in the Pembina Ridge, was another resource processed nearby. A lime kiln produced hundreds of ton of lime for mortar and for the mixture of lime and sand used to coat the inside of log houses.

Sawmill

Influential pioneer James Bolton established Bolton’s Mill and Woodwork, a large building which housed a power-driven saw and a large grain grinder for custom seed grinding.


Manufacturing

As was usual, blacksmith William Sheilds did more than just repairs, he made things as well. Sleighs and wagons were two of the products he produced.


Press  Clips

S: Nwfmm, Special Ed., 1883, p. 20.
“Darlingford, one of the rising towns on the south-western railway, is to have a $100,000 company to erect an elevator, mill, and warehouse. The elevator will have a capacity of 50,000 bushels, while the mill will be similar to that of the Assiniboia Milling Company at Portage la Prairie.”
S: AM, October 1, 1884, p. 543.
“The grist mill at Darlingford, Manitoba, at present under the management of H.N. Fleming, has been purchased by Joseph Ritchie, of Nelson, Manitoba, who will put it in thorough working order.”
S: AM, June 1, 1885, p. ____.
“The burr mill now at Darlingford, Manitoba is about to be removed to Morden, Manitoba.”
S: The Darlingford Saga, p. 24.
“There were a number of business places a saw mill and grist mill was run by Findlay brothers. Circa 1875-1882 in Old Darlingford.”
S: CH, Darlingford, p. 39.
- Photo 1908 of Bolton’s Mill with commentary; burned May 1912.


 

Morden, Winkler  and Altona were railway towns, part of the second wave of community building. As such, the emphasis on gristmills, cheese factories, brickyards and sawmills was not as pronounced. From the start they had links to supplies and to market that made these local enterprises less of a priority.  While gristmills did thrive in these larger communities, they did so on the basis of commercial viability, not in terms of essentials for subsistence. Of course a time went on other industries, more associated with modern and urban communities, did thrive.

Their respective histories are well documented and we will present here a sketch of the early operations that did exist.

Morden

The first mention of a mill comes in when Anderson and McLean accepted the bonus offered by the district and to erect a mill.  In August of 1885 we learn that Ritchie and Lundy’s had completed a flour mill and had it in in full operation.
In 1886 James H. Fraser, the proprietor of the Nelson flour mills, decided to erect a roller mill in Morden. Mr. James Pye superintended the starting of the machinery in December. 
Mr. A.E. Hughes, formerly with the Hudson’s Bay Company, Winnipeg, Manitoba, was the head miller.

MacGregor’s brickyard was south of Morden and its products were used to erect several substantial brick buildings, including the Dominion Post Office.

Press Items

S: Nwfmm, February 1884, p. 36.
“We understand that Messrs. Anderson and McLean, two practical men, have accepted the bonus offered by the district and will erect a mill at that point, which will have three run of stones and four sets of rollers.”

S: Commercial, August 11, 1885, p. 905.
“Ritchie and Lundy’s flour mills, at Morden, has been completed and is now in full operation.

S: Nwfmm, January 1886, p. 355.
“Mr. James H. Fraser, the proprietor of the Nelson flour mills, decided last summer to erect a first-class roller mill in Morden, Manitoba, and for that purpose contracted with the Pray Manufacturing Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a complete outfit for a mill of 75 barrels capacity, and in the mill as completed, this well known firm have more than sustained their reputation as builders offirst class mills. Mr. James Pye superintended the starting of the machinery on the 17th December. Everything moved off in a smooth and satisfactory manner.”

The mill will be run to its full capacity night and day, there being a large local and western trade for flour of all grades.
S: Nwfmm, February 1886, p. 387.
“Mr. Ritchie, the proprietor of the stone grist mills at Morden, Manitoba, has taken a partner. The firm is now Ritchie and McIntyre.

S: Nwfmm, April 1889, p. 100.
“J.H. Fraser, of Morden, Manitoba, is adding new machinery from Minneapolis.”
Bricks

Winkler

The “West Reserve”, established in 1876, was a treeless plain similar to the Russian steppes from which the Mennonite settlers came. These settlers established themselves in small villages of twenty to thirty families. In December of 1882 the Canadian Pacific Railroad line from Winnipeg to Manitou, created the town of Winkler.

Dyck and Peters built the Winkler Grist Mill. I find no records of the fate of that mill, but it seems likely that the Winkler Roller Mills replaced that service.

Judging by the several photos in “Winkler, A Proud Heritage”, it existed for decades.


Press Clips

S: CH, Winkler: A Proud Heritage, 1982, Friesen, p. 78.
- 5 photos of Winkler Milling Company Limited: 1) 1933 and 2) 1946 with the three others not dated.

Altona

The mills don’t play a big role in the Local History volumes of Altona but they are mentioned.


 

A report in the Altona History tells us that:

“Activity around the Friesen & Sons Flour mill was hectic. Around the clock shifts were needed to keep up with the demand placed on the mill by farmers and others who were getting ready for winter. Up to 3300 bushels of Wheat were ground daily.”


The La Riviere townsite was laid out in 1886. It became a divisional point for the railway, so had a roundhouse and water tank.

A flour mill was started by Cary and Grant, burned. J. Rockett built a cheese factory beside Mary Jane Creek.

About 1902 a brickyard was established with a payroll of about thirty men, including W. Carmichael as manager. He was followed by G.W. Dellar.
 
La Riviere Press Brick & Tile Company
Adapted from:
A History of Brick Manufacturing in Manitoba 1860-1990
David Butterfield 2018, Heritage Manitoba

In 1902, when tests made on local clay and shale deposits proved positive, and the Press Brick & Tile Company, Ltd., owned by Elisha Frederick Hutchings was established just to the east of town. A manager was found in Minneapolis in May, and by the following month local workers were being hired. By July, men had installed a brickyard dam, and a railway spur to the site was nearly complete.
Early in September the plant made its first bricks and was running “full blast” by mid-month, with a kiln of 250,000 bricks being burned and another 250,000 awaiting the fires. The following season (1903) saw the firm invest $10,000 in erecting four new beehive kilns and other improvements. Eleven cars of machinery were ordered, including an engine, numerous castings, a blower, 100 dryer cars, and other equipment. By late May the kilns were nearly complete, including an arched subterranean passage linking all four. The large dryer with its numerous brick divisional walls only lacked a roof at the time, but had a 40-foot high stack.
Four more kilns were under construction by mid-June. During mid-July, shale was being taken from the hillside source by night blasting, and then put on a carrier that took it down to the crusher where it was pulverized into clay. Reports from the spring of 1905 show most of the old employees back at work, and improvements included a remodeling of the oldest kilns and the construction of a “lofty and strong” trestle from the mill across the creek to the shale ledge.
In January 1905, a number of men were at work at the brickyard, sorting out and shipping the one million bricks on hand at the plant in preparation for the coming season. But something had happened with the firm’s financing, and the plant was suddenly up for sale . William Brydon acquired control, and the next six years of the plant’s operations are somewhat shadowy. In 1910 samples of brick “of a beautiful colour and finish” were on display locally, and an advertisement in July 1910 showed that the plant had acquired a new manager— James Johnstone—as well as a new name: The Phoenix Brick-works. In April 1911 it was noted that the plant machinery was being fitted up, and a kiln was filled; given that there were at least eight kilns, this appears to be a modest production schedule. It is not clear if the plant was in operation in 1912, but it was sold in 1913, to a Mr. Martin, who intended to renovate the complex, install new machinery, and place it on a sound footing. But that did not occur, and the plant was abandoned by 1914, as so many Manitoba plants were with the oncoming war.
 


A view, ca. 1903, looking west showing the mixing and pressing building on the left and the kilns of La Riviere’s Press Brick & Tile Company. (Courtesy Turning Leaves. A History of La Riviere and District, frontispiece)





In the early 1880’s,  Hugh and Dougald Cameron were so confident that their land would be chosen for a station  on the new The South Western Colonization Railway that they engaged a surveyor to lay out a townsite and gave it the name Tisdale, after the chief engineer who had surveyed the proposed route. 

The route changed, and the first work train reached Killarney in December of 1885. The line had been purchased by the CPR by this time. When the news came that the railway was to follow the southern route, T.J. Lawlor promptly arranged for his store at Tisdale taken down and had the lumber transported to Killarney. He found out where the station was to placed from the Land Commissioner and located his lots on the southeast corner of Railway Street and Broadway.

Flour Mill

In 1893 elevator owners Finlay Young and Tom Buck built a flour mill in Killarney.  Woodruff and Sons of Ontario built and equipped it. The Municipalities of Riverside and Turtle Mountain issued debentures to bonus the mill, Turtle Mountain pledging $4,000. The mill was up-to-date in every way and could handle a hundred barrels of flour a day. Young and Buck built an elevator on a spur track which made it possible for them to handle great quantities of grain.

Lime Kiln

At one time there was a lime kiln one mile south of the Ninga Cemetery. There was no building. It was just a stone structure set into the side of the hill, about eight feet deep and ten feet in diameter. Limestone was plentiful in the surrounding area.

Cheese Factory

In 1889 Alex David set up a cheese factory, bringing Isaac Woods from Ontario to run it. He had up to fifty cows on his own farm, employing three married couples and several single men, and he bought all the milk the neighbours brought. Not much land had been broken then, but there were lots of cattle so the cheese factory provided a cash return for the neighbouring farmers. When he bought a Babcock Milk Tester in 1892, some of his suppliers were highly indignant about this new contrivance, which could determine whether their milk had been diluted. Some of the cheese was sold locally, some shipped to Brandon where it was sold for 6 cents or 8 cents a pound. It took three days to make the trip to Brandon, sell the cheese and return. By 1899 more land had been broken and the farmers had fewer cattle, so he sold his herd and the equipment.
Nathan Clark is mentioned as having a Cheese Factory.

Church’s Brickyard

Robert Church came with his parents to North America in 1858, first settling in New Jersey, where Robert, who had learned the brick-making trade at home in England.  After serveral stops he settled near Killarney

As he was beginning to establish his farming operation his brick-making experience came in handy when he noticed that the texture of the clay on his land was ideal for making bricks.

Lacking capital, I took some pioneer ingenuity and a lot of hard work to get things started.

The necessary equipment had to be made by hand, and the wood for firing had to be hauled from Turtle Mountain with a home-made sleigh. He had to creat his own lime kiln to made the necessary mortar for building.

Within a year he had made 20000 bricks. By 1884 as settlers began building “real” houses, and each one need a brick chimney or two. From that time until 1903 his bricks were used in most of the brick buildings in Killarney and area.

Source: Personal Reminiscence: Church Family

Press Clips

S: Commercial, March 2, 1886, p. 1.
“The people of Killarney offer a free site and exemption from taxation for nineteen years, to the part or parties who will build a roller flour mill at that place, of not less than 100 barrels capacity.”

S: Commercial, 1893, p. 634.
“At Killarney, on the Deloraine Branch, a new mill of 100 barrels capacity, has recently been put in operation by Young Brothers and Buck.”

S: MFP, Saturday, April 18, 1903, p. 18.
“Young and Buck, Millers. One of the most important institutions in an agricultural country is the flour or grist mill. The town of Killarney is fortunate in possessing one of the best country mills in the province. The mill, which is a full roller process one, was erected in 1892. The leading brands of flour turned out are Peerless, Comfort and Strong Bakers, and these have established for themselves a reputation as high-class products throughout the district. The surplus stock is shipped to distant points. The firm also does a large business in chopped feed, bran, shorts, etc., and shipping wheat and other grain. Young and Black are regarded as one of the solid concerns of the province.”
- Mr. T.H. Buck – moved from Boissevain in 1892 “where he was engaged in milling and farming.”

The Harrison Mill has been preserved, and in 1991, was the only fully operational roller mill remaining from the 1890s still intact, in Western Canada. 


Plans for a flour mill in the emerging village of Holmfield were first considered in the spring of 1897, when the village council approved a by-law granting a bonus of $2,000 for the construction of a mill at Holmfield. Brothers, William and George Harrison would build and operate the mill.  

Unlike other mills built during this time, the Council committee in charge of raising money for the $2,000 bonus had little trouble raising the capital.  

From the outset, the mill was not burdened with the handicap of an operating deficit, which might have hampered its chances of survival.  Instead, Harrison’s mill operated on a sound financial footing, thanks to the support of the local patrons and the commitment to the district’s farmers by the Harrison family.

In August of 1897, the frame of the mill was raised and the stonework had commenced.

Mr. C.W. Avery of Toronto was hired by the Harrisons to install the milling machinery. The engine in the elevator was connected to the boiler in the mill so that one firebox would run the whole plant.  Mr. Avery completed this work by December 1897 and the mill began operations either in the same month or in early 1898.  As part of the building program, the Harrison brothers constructed three new warehouses in 1899. 

The mill was a booming business during its early years of operation.  A 1901 observer noted, “Harrison Bros. are kept busy with the mill day and night to fill orders for car loads of flour.”  Renovations during the following year, including completion of the stonework on the engine house and the erection of a new smoke stack.  Also, the mill’s power was boosted with the addition of a second boiler, and a new gangway was guilt to the entrance of their elevator.

Harrison’s Mill was the site of a spectacular robbery attempt during the spring of 1905.  Thieves forced their way into the office and blew up the big safe. The work was evidently done by professionals. Fortunately all of the money in the safe had been removed the night before and the thieves received nothing for their pains.  No one was ever caught.

Like all rural mills, it experienced a major surge in business during the Depression, and some renovations were undertaken in 1934.  The steam power plant was replaced by a diesel engine and “new elevating and flour tubing” was installed. With the exception of the substitution of electric power for diesel in 1947, no other major changes in the milling equipment have been undertaken at the mill since 1934. 

During the evening of July 26, 1934, a fire, which was confined to the roof of the east wing, was put out after about an hour.  It had originated from overheating in a box above the boilers. Thanks to a favourable wind direction and the yeoman efforts of the bucket brigade, the mill was saved.

During the 1930s the mill worked at maximum production.  In exchange for the continued benefits of high quality, locally-produced flour and the production of by-product livestock feed, the residents of the district agreed to pay four bushels of wheat for one hundred pounds of flour, in lieu of cash.  This informal arrangement was put into practice because the owners were deeply committed to the welfare of the district.  As residents of the district, the Harrison brothers operated their mill during tough economic times largely as a public service to the people of the district.  The farmers fulfilled their end of the bargain by paying amounts owed. Storage facilities in the Harrison Elevator made it possible for the mill owners to buy grain at low prices and hold it for later milling a practice utilized by large milling firms.

During World War II, flour mills both big and small across North America were pressed into action with a mandate to produce flour for the Allied troops and civilians needing scarce foodstuffs.  At its peak during World War II, the Harrison Mill produced about 50,000 bags of flour. During the early 1950s, overseas contracts were available while the European economy and landscape were under reconstruction.  Harrisons shipped 4,000 bags of flour overseas in 1951.  The overseas market slowly disappeared as Europe recovered and the Wheat Board denied small milling firms the wheat needed to operate.

During the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and into the 90s, the mill gradually scaled down its operations to concentrate on a purely local market. The flour was distributed locally under the brand name “Turtle Mountain Maid” and available for purchase in local retain outlets.