The Old Mill

The Terra Nova Sulphite Company Limited was organized to build and operate a pulp and paper mill in Glovertown. They acquired cutting rights to local timber by buying up licenses in the Terra Nova and Gambo River area. Water power rights on the Terra Nova were obtained by the Reid Newfoundland Company. A total of 1172 square miles was obtained for the project.

By 1921, construction of the mill under the direction of a New York company had begun, providing much needed employment in the Glovertown area. A large concrete structure to house machine rooms, acid towers, digesters and other parts of the mill were erected. Most of the machinery had arrived and it was expected that the mill would be in operation by 1922.

The Terra Nova Sulphite Mill, in its final phase of construction ran into serious financial difficulty as the Norwegian financing fell apart on the unsettled international money market, leaving the developers with insufficient funds to complete the project.

After the Government of Newfoundland refused to guarantee a loan to ensure the investment, construction was halted in the fall of 1921. Despite continued efforts to save the mill, all timber limits, water power rights, machinery and mill buildings were bought by the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company. The new owners felt the Glovertown mill was not economically feasible because of its relatively small size and its inadequate wood supply. Expansion of the Grand Falls mill, however, was supported in coming years by timber obtained in the watershed of the Terra Nova.

A plaque at the Old Mill - click to enlarge