On the banks of Quebec's
Chęne River, the Légaré Mill,
the oldest water-driven flour
mill in North America, has
been in constant operation
since its completion in 1763.
Today, the mill still
produces and sells between 30
and 40 tons of wheat flour
and buckwheat flour annually,
| using time-honoured methods
and the original millstones.
Built by eighteenth-
century seigneur Eustache-
Louis Lambert Dumont at a
time when the seigneuries and
the farming economy were both
developing, the property,
recognized as a Historic
Monument in 1976, was also
| designated a National
Historic Site by the Federal
Government in 2000. The mill
gets its name from the
members of the Légaré family
who owned it from 1907 to
1978.
Open year-round, the mill
welcomes school groups, adult
| groups and individual
visitors for guided tours to
learn about one of Canada's
oldest traditional skilled
trades.
|
