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r i ‘7 " V ' C" 1“"- 7 $3," I - Woeoihtg 8 l _ W The scene is a historical reconstruction of the propertieEJaround the 'Sydedham Dam' circa 1890. _ _ The buildings Are the grist mill and the owner's (Arsgtiri. home to its left. Wilma Kenny, the i present owner of the latter, and her lather Otto Gossage - a former millright at the site - helped l ' me with the historical research necesary to authenticate the scene. The steam launch was used to l transport mica-filled barrels from Eel Bay, and their contents were then cleaned ,sorted and I l I graded at sheds located on the west side of Wheatley St. In the painting, the emptied barrels are ' being returned to the mines for refilling. Apparently, the barges were unloaded both at the wr location shown in the painting, and also from a shallow dug channel which was situated just to the _ V, south of the present IHA hardware store, in what is now an overgrown area. _ . In a modern updating of the area, the bridge was shifted to the left , or Southward, as defined by V _ its present watercourse. The mill , which was earlier destroyed by fire, sat astride that area. The fate of the nifty boat is unknown, but it is typical of a large number of steam launches - both commercial and private .. in use at that time. I