Cuthbert Grant was born in 1793 at Fort Tremblante, Saskatchewan, a North West Company trading post located on the Assiniboine River near the Saskatchewan – Manitoba border. His father was Scottish and his mother was of Cree-French descent (Métis). After his father’s death in 1799, Grant was sent to school in Scotland.
Cuthbert returned to the fur trade country in 1812 at the age of 19. He began working for the North West Co. at the time of much conflict between NWC and their rivals the Hudson Bay Company (HBC). At the time there was also the beginning of a colony at the forks of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers (the Selkirk Settlers). Grant then earned the respect of the Métis and they looked to him for leadership.
Major events in the Red River Settlement such as the destruction of the NWC’s Fort Gibraltar made the Métis feel that their way of life was under threat. They appointed Grant to be “Captain General of all the Métis” (thus he is considered to be the first leader of the Métis Nation). He then went on to lead his people in the Battle of Seven Oaks on June 19th 1816.
In 1824, after the merger of the NWC and the HBC, Grant was granted land along the Assiniboine River to establish a Métis community which he named Grantown. It was later renamed St. Francois Xavier.
In 1828, he was given a special license to trade in the area and was appointed “Warden of the Plains” with his main duties to police illicit fur trade.
In 1829, he decided to build a water mill on Sturgeon Creek to grind grain into flour. This was the first water-powered mill in all of Western Canada. However it continuously failed, and Grant decided to construct a mill back in Grantown.
Later he was made a member of the Council of Assiniboia, also a Justice of the Peace, and a Magistrate. For many years he led the buffalo hunt involving up to 1,000 Red River Carts. On July 15th 1854 Grant died from his injuries after falling from his horse.
The idea of the restoration of Grant’s Mill on Sturgeon Creek was first conceived by the Pioneer Citizens Association led by retired clergymen Francis Walker “Frank” Armstrong who had helped establish the St. James-Assiniboia Historical Museum. In June of 1973 they received a Senior Citizens grant of $7,900.
In September 1973 the project was accepted by the Winnipeg Centennial Committee as a recognized centennial project. In January of 1974 the Rotary Clubs of Winnipeg expressed a desire to adopt the restoration of the Mill as their Centennial project with an estimated input of $50,000. On March 27th 1974 a generous gift was pledged to the committee from the National Grain Company Limited. This money was earmarked for the landscaping and beautification of the area surrounding the mill.
Tamarac logs of required size for the log walls of the mill were secured in the Whiteshell area (120km E of Winnipeg). Ogilvie Flour Mills provided the millstones from Garson (40km NE of Winnipeg) and the working parts. In addition the city of Winnipeg, through the Community Committee, was asked to construct a low level dam at the site of the mill. On November 18th the Department of Works and Operations approved the plan and accepted the responsibility for construction of the dam at an estimated cost to the city of $20,000. As much as possible the workers used tools that were known to be available in earlier times such as the “adze” and the “broadaxe”, to give a rough hewn appearance to the beams.
The mill officially opened July 3rd 1975 by Premier Ed Schreyer. In about 1990 the wheel was reconstructed and installed by Peter Jackson and Alphair Ventilating Systems Inc. and the management and staff of St. James Assiniboia Parks and Recreation
To claim as found you MUST post a picture of you, your team, mascot or a sign with your geocache name somewhere along the grounds with the Mill in the background.
Logs without an accompanying picture will be deleted.
WARNING: Do not play in or near the creek or surrounding rocks.
Information gathered from GrantsOldMill.org
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.