Driven by wind or water Sawing
wood or grinding flour Mills dot the countryside Exotic or familiar presences
They awaken sleeping crafts Millers, sawyers, carpenters:
A
built heritage, a craft heritage, The heritage of New France: The seigneur
was required to build a flour mill For his tenants
In Quebec:
In 1665, 9 mills In 1734, 118 mills In 1851, 541
mills
Survivors Some seigniorial mills survived the age of industrialization.
An inventory by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec
in 1978 and in 1982 listed 123 flour mills:
21 windmills
94
water mills
5 electrically powered mills
3 diesel-powered mills
Fact:
The arms of windmills are built like ladders, allowing the miller to climb
up and change the sails. In light winds, he attaches heavy sails; in high winds,
light sails.
