08/28/2026
For 207 years, a working flour mill on Medway Creek has been part of Canada's story — from a Crown land grant in 1819, to a national breakfast icon, to the Buy Canadian wave of 2025. Today, that story has a home.
Arva Flour Mills — Our Story: a public history timeline of Canada's oldest commercial flour mill.
https://history.arvaflourmills.com
In 207 years, this mill has changed hands only a handful of times — the early millers on the Proof Line Road, Jacob Hawkins and the Daisy Flour era, and then a full century of stewardship by the Templemans, Scotts, and Matthews. We're honoured to be the next chapter. When we became stewards five years ago, we inherited an extraordinary archive the families before us had lovingly kept for decades. We reached out to Western University for help preserving it for the long term.
Those records are now held at Archives and Special Collections, Western Libraries (Fonds AFC526 — Arva Flour Mill), where they'll be cared for and made accessible for generations to come. Graduate students in Western's Digital Public History course, under Mike Dove, then poured real research into bringing this timeline to life. As Western alumni, our whole family is deeply grateful for the partnership.
The story isn't ours to tell alone. It belongs to the millers, the farmers, the families, and the neighbours who have kept this mill turning since 1819 — and especially to every customer who's ever walked through our door for a bag of flour, a scone, or a bit of history. Thank you.
Arva Flour Mills is Canada’s oldest commercial flour mill and 5th oldest continuously operated commercial business. We are the home of Red River Cereal and also the Red River Cafe and Bakeshop. Farm to Table since 1819. Good. Clean. Canadian Food.
