Notice of Intention to Designate 1389 Progreston Road, Carlisle (Flamborough) - Progreston Woolen Mill

The City of Hamilton intends to designate 1389 Progreston Road, Carlisle (Flamborough), under Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, as being a property of cultural heritage value.

View the Notice of Withdrawal of Notice of Intention to Designate 1389 Progreston Road, Carlisle (Flamborough)

Freeman Green, son of ‘Billy Green the Scout’, and his wife Harriet Ann Howard purchased the property from James Kievel in 1869. The property included a grist mill and multiple other mill related buildings, all constructed by Kievel in the mid-1800s. In the early 1870s, Freeman and Harriet started a woolen mill in the former grist mill building. The Progreston Woolen Mill became an important pillar in the local economy as the mill processed wool from local farmers and employed local knitters. In addition to processing wool, the mill also produced yarn and blankets. Operation of the mill was passed through the Green family, until it burnt down in 1911. The wood framed barn with a rubble stone foundation and the rubble stone ruins of the Progreston Woolen Mill are physical reminders of the history of the site. The property is important in supporting the historic character of the area and maintaining the historic fabric of the Carlisle area and is physically, visually, and historically linked to its surroundings. The heritage attributes of the property include all four elevations of the bank barn and the ruins of the Progreston Woolen Mill.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest

The subject property is located at 1389 Progreston Road, Carlisle. The irregularly-shaped 10.4-acre property is located on the northwest corner of Progreston Road and Green Springs Road, near its intersection with Bronte Creek (formally Twelve Mile Creek), in the Carlisle Settlement Area, in the former Township of East Flamborough, in the City of Hamilton. On this property, the buildings and structures of cultural heritage value and interest include the detached bank barn and stone rubble ruins of the Progreston Woolen Mill.

Historical/Associative Value

The subject property, known as the Progreston Woolen Mill, is comprised of a wood-frame bank barn constructed circa 1900 and the ruins of the Progreston Woolen Mill.  The historical value of the property lies in its association with James Kievel, Freeman Green and the establishment and early development of the historic settlement area of Progreston. James Kievel first purchased the lot in 1855 and built a saw mill with a waterwheel at the foot fall of the Twelve Mile Creek (now Bronte Creek), multiple other mill related buildings and a log house. Kievel, Andrew Paton, Joseph Tansley and William Campbell, laid out what would become known as Progresstown (later Progreston).

Freeman Green, a carpenter and son of ‘Billy Green the Scout’, and his wife Harriet Ann Howard purchased 10 acres from James Kievel in 1869. The purchased land included the owner’s log house and a former grist mill building. The Greens then started a woolen mill in the former grist mill building, which would become known as the Progreston Woolen Mill. The Mill became an important pillar in the local economy, sourcing materials and labour from the local community. Freeman sourced and processed wool from local farmers and hired local knitters to knit such items as socks and mittens from yarn produced by the mill. In addition to running a successful woolen mill, Freeman invented an improvement for the spinning wheel, gaining him international recognition. This improvement included a pendulum apparatus and these spinning wheels were called the ‘Freeman Green’s Canadian Spinning Wheel’. Operation of the mill was passed through the Green family until the mill burnt down in 1911. Although the mill was not rebuilt, the Green family descendants started a small wood working business on site that also served the local community. In 1982, the Green family property was sold out of the family.

Contextual Value

The contextual value of the property lies in its contribution to defining the historic character of the settlement area of Carlisle. The property is physically, visually, functionally and historically linked to its surroundings, and is considered to be a local landmark. Physically, the property is located on the prominent corner of Progreston Road and Green Springs Road where it intersects with Bronte Creek, in the historic settlement area formerly known as Progreston. Visually and architecturally, the bank barn and the ruins of the Progreston Woolen Mill are reminders of the history of the site and both support, as well as define, the historic character of the settlement area of Carlisle. Historically, the property is associated with prominent members of the local community, namely James Kievel and Freeman Green, who were instrumental in the establishment and development of Progresstown. Functionally, the property’s location alongside Bronte Creek was integral to the operation of the Green’s woolen mill (no longer existent) which was a pillar of the local economy. The property is a rare example of the few mill industrial homesteads within the Flamborough area, with ruins of the Progreston Woolen Mill and intact bank barn.

Description of Heritage Attributes

The cultural heritage value of the property municipally known 1389 Progreston Road, Carlisle, and colloquially as the Progreston Woolen Mill, resides in the following heritage attributes that are related to the cultural heritage value described above:

• All four elevations of the detached bank barn, including its:
  • gable roof;
  • stone foundation, including existing window and door openings;
  • vertical wooden board cladding; and,
  • location as it is built into the sloping landscape.
• The ruins of the Progreston Woolen Mill, including its:
  • remaining stone rubble foundations; and,
  • location within the landscape.

The full Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest, Description of Heritage Attributes and supporting Cultural Heritage Assessment may also be viewed at the Office of the City Clerk, 71 Main Street West, 1st Floor, Hamilton, Ontario, during regular business hours.

Written Notice of Objection

Any person may, within 30 days after the date of the publication of the Notice, serve written notice of their objections to the proposed designation, together with a statement for the objection and relevant facts.

Dated at Hamilton, this 17 day of November, 2020.

Andrea Holland, City Clerk
Hamilton, Ontario

Contact: Miranda Brunton, Cultural Heritage Planner, Phone: 905-546-2424 ext. 1202, Email: [email protected]