I went for a trail run in Ingersoll the other day and I came across this. I wasn’t sure what it was at first glance so I decided to take a closer look.
I’ve come across some old cement foundations in quite a few of my trail runs, but I usually don’t stop to explore them, for some reason I felt compelled to this time.
I knew that this structure was at the edge of a river right where it met this pond and that gave me my first hint of what these ruins were.
I could see a couple remnants of what must have been walls at some point in history
I’m not exactly sure what this contraption is but it made me think that this structure must have been an old mill of some sort. My class had been studying earlier settlers and I thought it would be a great idea to snap a few pictures to see if they could identify this.
It’s interesting to come across a historical ruin such as this one, right here in South Western, Ontario. And thanks to the magic of the Internet, I was quickly able to identify it and share with you this image of the entire building back in its heyday.
This is a picture of the Waterhouse Woolen Mill as it used to look in the late 1800s. The Oxford County Library has a historical photo page that gives some further information about it, “Formerly located on the north side of Charles Street, 1 east of Mutual Street at the narrows of Carroll’s Mill Pond. Courtesy of Mr. George Wood.”
4 responses to “Some Old Ruins in Ingersoll”
Hi Chase .. love that you sought out the historical details. Does Charles Street still exist .. is there a suburb built around the old Mill Pond.
Fascinating .. cheers Hilary
Hi Hilary,
I just looked at a map and Charles Street still runs parallel to the river.
I think I got the idea for this post because of all the history you share on your blog.
And yes, there are a lot of houses in the neighbourhood. I parked on a dead-end street and actually had a chat with a man who was doing yard work. He told me about the trail before I started running.
Hope you have a great weekend!
I grew up on Wellington Street in Ingersoll and I can tell you this is the old Dam and not the Mill. Smiths Pond used to be between Canturbury Street and Wellington Street and on March 5 1976 the earth on the east side of the Dam let go and flooded the lower areas north of Canturbury Street in the middle of the night. The park that is between Canturbury Street and King Street used to be Partlo’s Pond. The second picture is where the Smiths Pond was and now called Smiths Pond Park. I used to play at the Dam and fish in the pond. Skate on it in the winter. The Dam was built by a guy named William Crellin as you can still see the name in the cement. He also built a few bridges in the area. Clifford Crellin lived beside me and was the Son of the builder. His daughter now lives in his house on Wellington Street.
Hi Scott,
Thanks for that comment. It’s great to have accurate information from someone who grew up in the area.
Cheers,
Chase