| Who was the Miller of the Seine? by Curtis Nordheim Between the years 1829 and 1870 over seven water mills existed in the Red River colony. Historic figures such as Cuthbert Grant, Andrew McDermot, John Tait, John and Louis Riel pere (or senior) were some of the individual entrepreneurs associated with these early water mills. The most famous of these names has to be that of Louis Riel pere whose milling ventures along the Seine River were to earn him the name, "Miller of the Seine." Louis Riel pere, who was born in 1822 at L'lle-a-la Crosse, Saskatchewan moved to Quebec in 1840 where he learned the wool carding trade. In 1843, Louis returned to the northwest where from 1843-1847 he farmed. His marriage to Julie Lagemodiere (the daugher of Jean-Baptiste Lagemodiere / Marianne Gaboury) in 1844, could only be considered advantageous to Riel's endeavors. The couple's first-born would be a son named after his father, and it was this Louis Riel who would eventually become the founding father of Manitoba. From 1847 until his death in 1864, Louis pere is said to have established three mill sites along the Seine River. The first one was a fulling or carding mill the mouth of the Seine River on the Lagemodiere property. The second water mill is said to have been established across from what is today Clayton Dr. The third and final venture was a grist mill and carding mill which operated from 1858 until his death in 1864 just north of what is John Bruce Rd. The large grist stone that graces the front of the St. Boniface Museum is from this mill. Louis Riele pere, "Miller of the Seine." |