Celebration of local culture on display at Coldwater Mill

A three-year process of redeveloping the second floor of the Coldwater Mill is finally completed.

On Sunday, the Coldwater Mill Heritage Foundation held the grand opening for the new facility, which is primarily dedicated to celebrating local history and artists.

"We've been able to create a cultural centre upstairs," says Gwen Robinson, the foundation's chair. "We're highlighting the history of the Hillsdale Mill, which unfortunately is to be demolished. So we are able to save that history and highlight it here at the mill."

The new floor has an art gallery featuring the work of many local artists from throughout the community. There are also Indigenous displays, with officials saying celebrating and recognizing the mill's ties to the local Ojibwa community was important.

COVID-19 delayed the process. The foundation received an Ontario Trillium Grant worth $150,000, which covered much of the cost of the renovation. Officials are thrilled to welcome the public inside the new space.

"We can have a classroom upstairs, we can have speakers, we can have artisan workshops, we can do so much up there now that we have the space," says Robinson. "And it also opens the entire mill up; when our visitors come in, and they come in from all over the world, they can see the mill right up to the roof now!"