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In 1968, when the province purchased the mill area to put in a new dam, they tore down the mills. They kept the turbine from the sawmill and the hasher plates from the grist mill and mounted them on the spot where the grist mill once stood on the south side of the Clayton-Taylor dam park.
Below is a picture of the grist mill (on the right) and the sawmill (on the left) taken from across the lake.
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It is widely believed that Edward and Samuel Bellamy arrived in Clayton in 1824 and built the mills. However, there is evidence that a settler named Martin Ryan had arrived in 1823 and, having been allotted the land, built a sawmill and grist mill within 2 years. At some point, the Bellamys purchased 150 acres and mill rights from Martin Ryan.
The grist mill was originally a stone building but was rebuilt as a frame structure in 1864 which stood until it was torn down in 1968.
The sawmill was seasonal work. It generally ran from the middle of March through to September. The logs were dumped on the ice on the river over the winter and when the ice cleared in spring, the sawing began.
The sawmill was rebuilt after the great fire at Clayton in 1875 when the mill and all the lumber piled next to it burnt. 1959 was the final recorded year of operation of the saw mill. Below is a picture of the sawmill in 1955.
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