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Note, "GRIST" is grain that has been cleaned and is ready to grind into flour.

Gardens .. Interpretive Tours .. Heritage Skills .. History .. Campground .. Tearoom .. Giftshop .. Special Events .. Map .. Visitors .. Links .. Contact Us

Plan your visit soon
The Old Grist Mill and Gardens at Keremeos is an (educational) family-fun place to visit.
A Heritage BC site, it is located in the scenic Similkameen Valley of South Central British Columbia, Canada
Features include:
an 1877 Waterwheel powered, all wood construction, flour mill, with orginal equipment, the last in BC
an 1879 White House with exhibits,
a turn of the 20th century Apple House,
our heritage orchard
a kitchen garden,
and the Victorian Gardens beside the stream.
Children can play on the mill lawn, roll down the hill beside the Victorian gardens or play other games
while parents enjoy a cup of tea or lemonade, in the shade, by the stream
or see the waterwheel in action.
The 12 acre site also features
the Tearoom for light lunchs and afternoon tea
the Giftshop with a quality selection of locally made arts, crafts, and gifts,
and a Campground for both RV's and tents.

The Gardens and Grounds
The gardens has flowers that have something blooming all season, however, Jim's favourite are the 3 different shades of lilacs that are spectacular in late May.
The Victorian Gardens are in the shade of the large Cottonwoods.
A kitchen garden by the White House provides fresh veggies for the Tearoom.
In the Upper Field we have over 20 varieties of heritage apples.
There we also grow wheat (Red Fife last year) and a variety of others as time permits - corn, tomatoes, peas, and giant sunflowers.
This year we hope to plant again the giant Zucca Melons that helped the area endour the Great Depression.
Quite a variety of birds and butterflies enjoy the garden as well!

Interpretive Tours:
Enjoy a personal guided tour of the Grist Mill, Exhibits, and Gardens.
Your experienced guide will explain the history and function of each item, in an informative easy-listening way
that both children and adults can enjoy.
Reminisce about how our grandparents lived in the near desert of the Similkameen Valley.

Heritage or Prepper Skills Training
Many people would like to learn basic gardening and food preservation skills,
hundred mile diet,
and others would like the skills necessary to survive a serious storm or small earthquake.
Could you live in relative comfort for 2 or 3 weeks without electricity?
We are preparing training courses to provide these skills.
If you are interested, please let us know.
Would you like a class on grinding wheat and baking bread in a wood-fired stove?

History
Barrington Price began working for the Hudson Bay Company in 1872. In 1877, he built a water powered Grist Mill to produce a high quality white flour from First Nations wheat so he could make money (and his fame and fortune) from the prospectors that were scouring the local mountains in search for gold. Unfortunatley, the gold rush did not last long. By 1895 the Mill no longer ground wheat into flour. In the early 1900's the village of Keremeos moved to the banks of the Similkameen River and the new railway line. This, along with the dry conditions of the Similkameen valley, helped preserve the Mill for us today as it was left alone, save a stint as a chicken coop in the 1940's.
The Mill's heritage value was recognized in 1965 with plaque and in 1984 was purchased by the Province of BC. With much hard work it was lovingly restored, as well as the White House, and the 1900's Apple House.
Apples, the fruit of choice at the time, came to the Valley with development of irrigation about 1900.
In 1994, a Tearoom was added to the site to provide more ammenities and a campground was also added in 2004. In 2003 the Province devolved the site along with 9 other Heritage Properties.
Jim and Brenda Millar have been operating the site since 2009 for the BC Heritage Branch.

The Campground
The Campsite is a quiet family-oriented spot located in the shade of large cottonwood trees beside the Keremeos Creek.
11 sites are available with power and water hookup that back onto the creek, for RV's or tents.
With hookup $25.00/night or without $15.00
For RVs, a sani station is available 3 kms away in Keremeos.
Firewood is available by donation for local youth groups such as Scouts Canada and Girl Guides. It is common to have campfire bans if things get too dry.

If you would like to reserve your campsite, Please call 250 499 2888.

The Tearoom features
The Millar's Lunch:
Soup of the day or Salad
(the salad depends on what is fresh and seasonal from the garden but Kale is one of our favourites)
Slice of roast turkey
Slice of baked ham
Hard boiled egg
Hunk of cheddar cheese
Scone, fresh from the oven
Tea or Coffee or Lemonade
$10.00
Afternoon Tea:
Various teas
Fresh homemade scone with jam
$4.00
Deserts vary with season
(mulberry muffins, fresh apricot cobbler or apple crisp)
$3.00
Also, our olde fashioned lemonade is great on a warm summers day.

The Giftshop:
Features many local items and great gift ideas. We have a neat walking stick that comes apart for storage/travelling and also doubles as a camera stand.
We also have homemade jams. Saskatoon berry jam is great! Kids, young and old, like our olde fashioned candies.
We have had some mechanical problems with our grinder but soon hope to have one in operation and return to selling fresh ground organic whole wheat flour.

Special Events

The Old Mill and gardens are available for Your Special Event
whatever it may be.
Also The Mill is host to a few Special Events of our own
Applefest, every fall when apples are at their best.
Check the Special Events page for more info

Easy to find in the Heart of The Similkameen Valley Wine District

The Old Grist Mill Gardens are located at the Keremeos Grist Mill
2691 Upper Bench Road
Keremenos, British Columbia, Canada
From Keremeos, take Hwy 3A 2 km north of Hwy 3 then right 1 km on Upper Bench Rd. just past Farmer John's Petting Zoo.
The Gardens are open daily, May 22 to September 19, 2010, 9:00 am til 4:00 pm
with Tearoom, Giftshop, Campground and interpretive tours of the 1877 Grist Mill available
Adults $5.00, Seniors and Students $4.00, under 5 Free

Click here for a MAP to Flour Mill

Contact Us

For further information, ideas and/or suggestions
Contact us: Jim and Brenda Millar

please email:
info@OldMillGardens.ca
or telephone
250 499 2888

.