Grist for the Mill

Ambitious. Within 2 years of their 1605 arrival and settlement, the French set about establishing it’s infrastructure. Near the top of the list was a grist mill on the Lequille River.

Annapolis Royal and immediate area.

While the original mill did not survive the centuries, in the mid-1960s The Nova Scotia Light and Power Company built a near-replica near it’s original location. Instead of making flour from locally-grown grain, electricity was generated from the Lequille River.

Built to mark Canada’s 100th birthday as a Nation, in the cradle of Canada, the power house was opened in the Fall of 1968.

Less than 20 years later, in 1984, Annapolis County would be the home of the North America’s first tidal power generating plant. Nova Scotia Power installed a 2 MW turbine in the middle of the causeway across the Annapolis River.

Based on a French design and in the Brutalist architectural style, an upstream view of the power plant housing the turbine.

Holding back the Annapolis River, at low tide the gates open allowing the River to flow past the turbine, spinning its blades and generating electricity . This was a pilot project for a proposed larger facility.