In 2025, we are looking forward to the official opening of our new Erin Branch! Stay tuned for updates as we complete the restoration of the historic Grist Mill. Our new library will feature a welcoming community living room with fireplace, dedicated children's programming space, and a spectacular top-floor room overlooking the Credit River. The new branch will be everything our library system strives to be – accessible, innovative, and deeply connected to our community.
The Grist Mill and surrounding property at 51 Main Street was purchased by the County of Wellington in 2022 with the intent of moving the library out of its current location at Centre 2000, where it shares space with Erin District High School. Building a new library in Erin Village will serve the needs of the community well into the future.
The building was one of five mills built by Daniel McMillan, one of the founding fathers of Erin. At just 18 years old, Daniel McMillan bought the first sawmill in the area before erecting the first home in the village. In 1849, he started work on a new grist mill, or flouring mill; however, near the end of the construction, he got a splinter that turned gangrene, and he passed away at age 38. The Grist Mill passed through several hands before Ben Mundell bought the property in 1896 and re-tooled it as a planing mill and lumber business. It remained in the Mundell family until 2017.
Related links
- Council approves design for new library project in Erin (Wellington Advertiser article from January 2023)
- Concept designs for new Erin library branch unveiled at library board meeting (Wellington Advertiser article from September 2022)
- Historic grist mill to get second life as home of new Erin library branch (Wellington Advertiser article from May 2022)
- County announces purchase of downtown Erin property for new library, affordable housing (Wellington Advertiser article from April 2022)