Bedford Mills
Text from the plaque
In 1831 Benjamin Tett (1798-1878), later an important merchant at Newboro, anticipating the completion of the Rideau Canal, acquired a sawmill here on Buttermilk Falls. Tett and various partners, including the prominent Chaffey brothers, extensively exploited local forests and through the Canal sent timber, lumber, and cord-wood to American and St. Lawrence River market centres. Active trade and settlement of the district led him to build a store and, in 1848, construct the stone grist-mill here. After 1872 the operations, including a shingle and planing-mill and canal shipping, were continued by John Poole Tett and Benjamin Tett Jr. Depleted forests and the availability of western flour and feed seriously affected the mills and the total population declined. In 1916 the grist-mill ceased operation.
Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.
Find the place
The County of Frontenac
The Township of South Frontenac
In Bedford Mills, on the grounds of
St. Stephen's Anglican Church
on Tett Crescent just off Road 10
about 48 km north of Kingston
N 44 35.958 W 76 24.448
Recorded January 2006. Check current access before visiting.
Where it stands
Visitors' notes
May 24, 2015
We dropped by this area today, so beautiful in the spring. Took photos of a pair of Canada Geese with about 10 goslings! Are weddings or funerals ever held in the church? Who maintains the church - it is beautifully kept up. We would love to see the interior. Joan and Tim Murray, Perth