THE FLOUR MILL
Messrs. Lawes and Rashdale built a five storey roller mill on this site in 1885 [or 1887 - see the link below]. Using the latest technology the mill produced a fine white flour as opposed to the courser brown flour produced by Okanagan grist mills. Large farms in Spallumcheen supplied the wheat. It was hoped that this mill would help make British Columbia self-sufficient in flour. Previously flour was imported from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.
The mill became the first major employer for the newly settled community. Problems getting the finished product to the CPR mainline at Sicamous meant they were soon bankrupt. The new owner, R.P. Rithet of Victoria, persuaded the provincial government to provide the first subsidy for a railway in British Columbia. It connected Sicamous with Okanagan Landing. He made sure that the newly laid tracks went right through his flour mill thus improving his ability to get product to market.
By 1905, this mill shipped the first Canadian flour to Japan. Its main product, Moffet's Best, was named for the mill manager. It was a landmark on the riverbank for forty years. Competition from prairie mills and Mr. Rithet's financial problems closed the mill in 1914.
From the Sign by the Trail