HEATH:  After the destruction of the first Beaver Mills in 1894, John Heath (1848-1925) built a second grist mill on the same site.  This mill continued to operate until 1910, when it too was destroyed by fire.  By the time of the second conflagration, John had allowed his son, Roland, to take over the milling operation.  John’s eldest son, also named John, was offered the mill but refused it because he could not tolerate the dust generated by the milling process – which was also highly combustible.  With the destruction of the second Beaver Mills, Roland found himself out of work and headed west in search of employment.  Ultimately, he enlisted in the Canadian Army during the First World War and went to Belgium, where he was killed in 1917.

The photographic postcard above features the second Beaver Mills, circa 1900.