Billy-Jack Kimmerly/Supplied
46 Concession Rd. S., Tamworth, Ont.
Asking price: $2.45-million
Taxes: $5,607.76 (2024)
Lot Size: 1.5 acres
Agents: Michael Hamnett and Jeff Porter, Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd.
In the 1840s, an influx of Irish immigrants fled famine in their own country and began a new life in the rocky landscape north of Kingston, Ont.
Many of the new arrivals found work cutting timber in the Beaver Lake area, where a settler named Calvin Wheeler built mills for sawing logs and grinding grain on the banks of the rushing Salmon River. The small community was known as Wheeler’s Mills for a time before the name was changed to Tamworth with the arrival of mail delivery in 1848.
In the early 2000s, Toronto-based Janet Wright and Terry Godsall purchased a simple prefabricated home next to the river in Tamworth as a weekend retreat.
For years, the couple paid little attention to the abandoned limestone structure crumbling away on the property.
The relic was the former grist mill, which had been severely damaged by fire in 1960. Ms. Wright heard some chatter that the blaze may have been caused by arson, but she couldn’t find many details about the mill’s history or when it fell into disuse.
“Any map you looked at didn’t name it – it just said ‘ruin,’” recalls Ms. Wright.
Occasionally, observers would stop for a look at the rubble. One of those passersby was a local builder who found Mr. Godsall working outside and asked if he was thinking of doing anything with the heap.
“All we had done was put up signs saying ‘beware of falling rocks’ – that was the sum total of our involvement,” Ms. Wright says with a laugh.
Mr. Godsall, who died earlier this year, was an engineer.
Ms. Wright says it didn’t take much to spark his interest when the builder talked about the restoration work he had done on other heritage properties in the area. The builder and Mr. Godsall began planning, and, in 2004, work began on the project that would take seven years to complete.
The mill today
Home of the Week: 46 Concession Rd. South, Tamworth, Ont.Billy-Jack Kimmerly/Billy-Jack Kimmerly
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Looking back, Ms. Wright says she didn’t grasp quite how much she and Mr. Godsall were taking on.
“Philosophically and environmentally, I was all for it,” says Ms. Wright. “I didn’t know how much it would ultimately cost.”
The couple were both ardent conservationists, and they decided early on that they would not rush the process or compromise on materials.
“It was a real passion project,” she says. “You’re not building something new – you’re trying to reclaim something old.”
Nothing of the interior remained, so Mr. Godsall spent vast amounts of time tracking down salvaged wood for the post and beam construction.
Some of the fir beams came from a Toronto Mercedes-Benz dealership torn down to make way for the city’s subway, she says, while another batch came from a vintage airport hangar in Ottawa.
The wood supplements a modern structural steel skeleton that supports a modern two-and-a-half-storey residence with two bedrooms plus a loft.
While Mr. Godsall undertook most of the planning, Ms. Wright wanted to ensure that the home was welcoming and easy to maintain for family, guests and the couple’s two Bernese mountain dogs. The floors are all heated and the building has air conditioning.
“It’s an old stone mill but you have modern comforts,” says Ms. Wright. “When you walk in the front door, it doesn’t feel like anything other than a home.”
Much of daily living takes place on the second level, where the great room has a large stone fireplace, soaring ceiling and clerestory windows to bring in light.
The kitchen, which runs along one side of the room, has a stone-clad island and breakfast bar. Next to the kitchen, a dining area has French doors opening to a balcony, and a den tucked into one corner of the great room provides a cozy spot for reading.
The second level also holds the primary suite. The bedroom, with a beamed ceiling and built-in bookshelves, has French doors opening to a balcony above the river.
The semi-ensuite bathroom has a soaker tub with views of the treetops.
At one end of the great room, an open wood staircase leads up to a loft, which is currently used as a third bedroom with an ensuite bathroom.
Ms. Wright says the open plan is designed for relaxed entertaining. The couple’s sons were mostly out on their own and living in far-flung locations by the time the project was finished, so they have taken turns visiting.
A main-floor bedroom has bunk beds for the grandchildren.
The main floor also provides a large living space with a stone fireplace. Ms. Wright says the room could serve as a bedroom, home office, studio or event space. An elevator makes it easy to carry groceries and luggage to the second floor.
There’s also a basement that houses mechanicals, storage space and the original footprint of the mill’s operation.
As a committed environmentalist, Mr. Godsall became increasingly intrigued by the prospect of using modern-day engineering to harness the river’s power once again.
The wheel he designed and patented is still in place, Ms. Wright says, but the building does not use hydropower – instead, it is hooked into the electrical grid and there’s a backup generator. The power wheel would operate more efficiently with the improved turbines available today, she adds.
In 2011, the project was complete and the couple moved in. The lot with the prefab cottage was severed and sold.
Throughout the restoration, many residents of Tamworth were curious about the couple’s plans for the mill, Ms. Wright says.
Today, the mill is used as a motif on the town’s signs and website.
“This is part of the heritage of Tamworth,” she says. “I want people to feel that way about it.”
The best feature
The mill is surrounded by a verdant landscape of mature trees, gardens, stone walls and the sounds of water flowing along the Salmon River.
At times, the local conservation authority tames the flow, which provides a gentle ride for kayakers and canoeists, says Ms. Wright. At other times, the water runs freely.
“Sometimes the river is absolutely roaring.”