Bustling mill was once main industry of Severn Bridge

Postcard Memories is a weekly series of historic postcard views and photos submitted by Marcel Rousseau. Some were previously published by the Orillia Museum of Art and History and in the book Postcard Memories Orillia. You can take a trip down memory lane with us each Saturday morning!

The Mickle-Dyment saw mill, which once stood on the west side of Highway 11, south of the Severn River bridge, has a history dating back to 1873, when the first railway reached the community. 

In his book Mills and Mill Villages of Severn Township, James T. Angus tells us that a small saw mill was purchased by W.P. Christie in 1878, and shortly after, the owner expanded the lumber operations.  

W.P. Christie & Co. prospered through the 1880s, and in 1892 the mill was sold to Mickle-Dyment & Son of Gravenhurst.   

Logs were floated down the Black and Severn rivers directly to the mill. The lumber was shipped on the Grand Trunk Railway to lumber yards in the south.   

Mickle-Dyment tore down the old Christie mill and replaced it with a new building, and with new equipment installed, the mill reported a record production. In June 1895, in a 10-hour period, the mill produced 91,500 board feet of lumber, 17,500 shingles and 30,000 laths.  

The mill closed down in 1931 and was dismantled in 1936. Two demolition experts were brought in to demolish the burner. Severn Bridge school children received a half-day holiday to witness the end of the village’s main industry.