Morningstar mill is a fascinating location for all to visit. Open as detailed below for tours, it also serves as an access point to the Bruce Trail.
The official site for Morningstar Mill does a far better job of showcasing this location and times that tours are available.
However this exerpt from their history page (cited above) gives you a good taste of the site.
The gristmill was built in 1872 on land owned by Robert Chappel to process wheat, oats, barley and rye. It was constructed of native stone quarried from Beaverdams Creek to form the mill pond. The mill stones (flinty burr stones) originally came to Canada from the LaFerte fields of France and were brought over as ballast on ships planning to take back logs for sale in France. In 1875, the City of St Catharines Water Works Commission purchased property at DeCew Falls and constructed dams across Beaverdams Creek, interfering with the water supply to the mill. As a consequence, in 1878, the City of St Catharines was compelled to purchase the property from Chappel. This was the beginning of a long relationship between the City and the site that is locally known as "Morningstar Mill."
The City proceeded to lease the mill to a number of millers. Ellis and Drake ran the mill for a time and their names appear on the original sign, under layers of paint. By the early 1880s the third Welland Canal had been completed and resulted in an abundance of water to power the mill. The City sold the property to Wilson Morningstar in 1883, who in turn leased it to Charles Knoll.
Around 1892, the interior of the Mill was destroyed by fire but the original stone structure remained intact. Morningstar, assisted by his brother Wallace, rebuilt the mill installing new equipment acquired in Toronto from the Greey Company.
Wilson Morningstar operated the mill until his death in by heart attack in1933. The water-powered turbine seized shortly thereafter and the mill was abandoned. Morningstar's widow, Emma, sold the property in 1941 to Ontario Hydro who repaired the turbine building. In 1961 Hydro leased the property to the City of St Catharines, and the next year Mountain Mills Museum was opened with Donald Robson, Morningstar's grandson, as the curator.
Ontario Hydro declared the property surplus and the City purchased the mill site in 1989. In 1992 the volunteer group "Friends of Morningstar Mill" was established and they began to restore and then operate the mill as an operating gristmill. At the start of the restoration project, much of the machinery and stones were as Morningstar had left them in 1933.
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