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History of the Grist Mill at Keremeos

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.