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Ramsay Women‘s Institute Tweedsmuir History Book 7 Textile Museum in Almonte. [Photo of the storehouse] The mill’s storehouse, a flat-roofed stone building, was conveniently located beside the road at end of the bridge. The mill building itself was demolished in the 19205 because of fears that it would collapse, and so was the storehouse in the 19705. [Mill photo with boardwalk] A wooden boardwalk led from the woolen mill all the way up the hill to the train stationâ€"a very long stretch! [Photo offirst bridge] The first bridge was built of logs and was in the same location as the present one. [Photo of newspaper ad ?IT he first concrete structure was built in 1915 [photo]. [Photo of ad in CP Canadian ?]The brewery was located at the end of the bridge, but by 1864 the building was for rent, according to this ad in the Carleton Place Canadian. [Photo oflag school] In 1869, a log schoolhouse was built on Peter Syme's farm a half mile south of the village. A brick schdolhouse was built closer to Blakeney in 1873 [photo]. Teachers taught up to 40 pupils in eight grades, and between 1886 and 1900 were paid $300 to $400 per term. [Photo] James Naismith taught there in 1882. From 1898 to 1907 the teacher was Alex Young, seen here [photo infront of house] in front of his frame house on the hill. [Photo] A new school building was erected in 1939 and operated until the late 19605. Seen here, [photo] is a school softball game from 1952. The school still stands on the tenth line, and is now a private home. Today, as you pass through the hamlet, the island and the bay are almost invisible. [Photo with bridge to island] The original road followed the edge of the bay, with a bridge to the island about halfway along. its route was changed to decrease the steepness of the hill, [photo of guardrails and view to island today] new guardrails cut off access to the old road and the Bay, and nature has taken the island back. [Photo of the island with original buildings] But Pine Isle was a busy spot in its heyday, [Bring up map] with an oatmeal mill [No.15] [photo], a flour and gristmill [map No.16] [photo] powered by [photo of dam] water created by a wooden dam, livery stables [map No.13], and the Merilees house [No.14]. The gristmill produced flour and animal feed and was sold to Alexander Snedden’s sons in 1869. [Photo of account book] The mill's account book for 1875 lists nine local employees who earned from $5 to $13 per month. [Photo ofJohn Merilees] The mill was sold to John Merilees from Fallbrook in 1888. [Photo of Merilees house] The family's white frame house became the social hub of the community. It was demolished in the 19205 by lsodore Scissons to build his home in Almonte. [Photo ofoatmeal mill stack] The stone oatmeal mill with its tall ventilation stack was last building on the island until it collapsed in the 19705. In 1874, the post office opened, [photo of postmark] and the name “Rosebank” was officially changed because of a duplicate in Renfrew County. The name Blakeney was chosen to honour Sir Edward Blake, Premier of Ontario. [Photo ofJames McDouga/l] James McDougalI (brother of the woolen mill owner) was Blakeney’s first postmaster, and [photo ofStewart carrying mail] Robert Stewart carried the mail from Snedden's Station to the post office every Weekday. [Photo of store] The post office also housed the community‘s general store, which continued to operate after the post office closed in 1957. The store operated until [photo] the late 19605 and is now the home of the Evans family. 3 21