Morice’s Mills

Morice’s Mills historical marker,
Lillas Fawcett Park, Middle Sackville, N.B. 
MORICE’S MILLS
1821
Sometime in the early 1700s Acadian settlers built a dam at this site creating what was later called “Morice’s Mill Pond” and more recently “Silver Lake.” Planters from New England took over the site establishing several mills. After a succession of owners (including Christopher Harper great-great-great-great-grandfather of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper) John Morice acquired a controlling interest in the dam, mill pond and mills in 1821. The businesses remained in the hands of the Morice family until 1939. The old mill dam gave way in 1932 but in 1952 the Sackville Fish and Game Association restored the lake by building a new concrete dam. Beginning in 1976 a housing sub-division was developed on the south side of the lake.
Morice’s Mills
1821 – 1939
This site was likely a Mill and Milldam built by Acadians during the mid 1700s. English settlers from New England established a Gristmill and Sawmill here in 1764. A succession of partners operated the Mills until 1821 when John Morice, a recent arrival from Scotland, acquired a controlling interest and eventually purchased full title to the Mills, Milldam and Millpond. The Morice family operated the Mills, which consisted of a sawmill, carding mill and grist mill, for over 100 years. The millstone, to which this plaque is attached, came from the Gristmill which was located just south of this monument. A large woodworking factory was also part of the Mills where windows, doors, furniture and wooden boxes were made. After several replacements, the old milldam finally gave way in 1942 and a new concrete dam was built by the Sackville Fish and Game Association in 1952 to re-establish what is known today as Silver Lake. Lillas Fawcett Park was established by the Rotary Club of Sackville in 1977 and is owned and maintained by the Town of Sackville.
Marker placed by Town of Sackville Parks and Recreation Department, in co-operation with the Historic Sites Identification Project and the Tantramar Heritage Trust,
in October 2001
This site is listed in the Canadian Register of Historic Places ; see Morice’s Mill Pond

Estabrooks, R.Ernest (with editing and additional notes by Al Smith), “The Mills and Millpond in Middle Sackville,” The White Fence, No.15, April 2001, pp. 5,6.

Smith, Al, “Dedication Ceremony Recognizes Contributions Of Morice’s Mills To Surrounding Area,” Sackville Tribune-Post, 7 November 2001.

Jackson, K. and C.Scobie, Sackville Then and Now: New Brunswick’s Oldest Town in Photographs (Sackville, N.B.: Tantramar Heritage Trust, 2013), pp. 1-5.

Tantramar Heritage Trust | Historic Sites