The Ritchie Mill is the oldest surviving

flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...

in the province of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

History

End of Steel Park Edmonton Alberta Canada 05A

Constructed in 1892 and the oldest surviving flour mill in the province, the Ritchie Mill is significant because of its association with the early

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

and industrial development of Alberta. It is associated with early technical innovation, using

steam power A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...

ed, steel rollers instead of the traditional stone wheels that became pitted when grinding hard prairie

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeolog ...

. The Ritchie Mill is also significant because of its association with industrial and agricultural development in an urban setting and with the development of the Strathcona community, one of Edmonton's oldest settled neighborhoods, dating from the arrival of the

Calgary and Edmonton Railway The Calgary and Edmonton Railway (C&E) was an early pioneer railway in what was then the Northwest Territories, now Alberta, Canada. It connected the towns of Calgary and Strathcona (also called South Edmonton). Construction started in April 1890 ...

in 1892, which terminated at the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventual ...

Valley. The Ritchie Mill was located at the ‘End of Steel’ to take advantage of the rail link with the southern part of the province.

Elevators An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They a ...

were added in 1895 and 1902 and the building functioned as a flour mill until 1948. The Ritchie Mill is also significant because of its association with Robert Ritchie who arrived in Strathcona in 1892. Within a year he had built and began operating the flour mill and added elevators in 1895 and 1905. Ritchie also served in local politics as

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

school trustee A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional ar ...

, justice of the peace, and in 1906 as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

of Strathcona. the building had been converted to an iconic office & retail building with numerous professional tenants.

Heritage recognition

The surviving parts of the mill were designated a Provincial Historic Resource in 1979 and a Municipal Historic Resource in 1997.

References

External links

City of Edmonton Historic Resource - Ritchie Mill
{{Edmonton landmarks Provincial Historic Resources in Edmonton Municipal Historic Resources of Edmonton Industrial buildings completed in 1892 Flour mills in Canada

History

Heritage recognition

See also

References

External links