Walton's sawmill circa 1951 courtesy of Lillian Beaton

HICKOX'S

In 1914 Spurgeon Hickox purchased the property onto which he would later move his mill (37). It is believed that he moved to Bonshaw from Clyde River in 1916 and built a small sawmill on the north side of the West River. He had purchased all the softwood timber on the property of Alan Stewart and sawed it on site. After a few years he moved the mill on a scow across the river and shortly afterwards built a larger steam powered mill and a wood working shop (4). The steam boiler was fired by slabs and waste from the sawmill and workshop (42). In 1919 Spurgeon entered into a contract with Samuel Beaton to harvest timber from his property over the next three years (38). He remained in Bonshaw until 1946, when he retired to Charlottetown. As noted earlier, Spurgeon was known for building boats, but he also built windows and doors, as well as sleighs, wagons and wheelbarrows (4,42).

In April 1946 Louis Bertram of Fredericton, P.E.I. purchased the property from Spurgeon for the sum of $4,900 (39). In July of the same year Louis Bertram sold the property to Fred Bertram, a miller (40). Fred Bertram was noted in the 1950 directory as a sawyer (31). It is believed that he only ran the sawmill and did not use the woodworking shop (32). At the time he sold the property in 1955 Fred was listed as a machinist in Charlottetown, so the mill was no longer in operation (41). The workshop was cut into pieces and taken to North River, where it was reassembled. It is located behind the skating rink and is an apartment building today (42).

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