In 1890, William Losee, a master mechanic for the E & N rail line, realized the potential of the forests surrounding Shawnigan Lake. He negotiated a timber lease from James Dunsmuir and then bought a 4 ½ acre piece of land on the eastern shore of Shawnigan Lake for his lumber mill. The original mill site is now Old Mill Park. Losee had the mill in operation by the fall of 1890 but, not long after, the mill was sold to William Munsie, Theophilus Elford and other shareholders. Employees of the Shawnigan Lake Lumber Company were an integral part of the social and economic growth of the emerging community of Shawnigan Lake. The mill survived two devastating fires, one in 1918 and another in 1935. After the third fire in the mid 1940's the mill was not rebuilt. Visitors to this lovely park can see the large concrete structure in the parking lot which was part of the safe from the company store. Pieces of brick from the old boilers, steel cables and chains are evident throughout the park. Decaying piles from the original mill still stand in the water off the shoreline. Otherwise, it is hard to imagine that a large mill ever operated on this site which has been mostly reclaimed by nature.

For more information, see the official Old Mill Park web site.