Mill Pond (Milton, Ontario)

In conjunction with the yearlong Canadian Centennial celebrations held in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation,[17] the town of Milton decided to redesign the Mill Pond. After the fire, the pond area had been donated to the town by its former owners, Robin Hood Flour Mills for development as parkland.[12] Although the plans by a committee of locals included a proposed 60 ft x 150 ft island with a mini zoo and boat rental service, none of those materialized.[12]

The official opening ceremonies of the Mill Pond took place on June 25, 1967.[13] In May, the pond had been refilled, after extensive dredging resulting extended pond banks, a new drainage system and a unique curving bridge over a waterfall spillway. The clear water was stocked with 2,500 speckled trout for recreational fishing. According to Conservation Halton (2020), subsequent fishing derbies for stocked trout have been organized at the Mill Pond.[18]

Inside Halton reported in 2017 that the project to rejuvenate the Mill Pond took place in 2000.[12] The aim of the project was to clean the pond from invasive weed Eurasian Watermilfoil[19] and to expand the pond. The centerpiece gazebo, popular wedding photography setting, was built in 2001.[12]

According to AllTrails.com (2020), Mill Pond is a 2.1-kilometer, lightly trafficked loop trail featuring waterfront, flora and fauna and is good for all skill levels.[20][21] This comprises a network of trails around the mill pond known as the Jaycee Trail, which includes the Miller’s Walk, Livingston Park Trail and a trestle bridge.[22] primarily used for hiking, walking, nature trips, and bird watching.[21] Bird feeding is a popular pastime of the towners that birds get very close to human in the pond.[12]

The mill pond and the north arms of Sixteen mile creek was native to northern pikes. During the 1967 Dominion Centennial project, in order to be stocked with trout more than 100 northern pikes were rehomed to Fairy Lake in Acton. With newly expanded pond banks and clear water 2,500 speckled trout were introduced, followed by fishing derbies only to find, later, that the pond does not provide suitable habitat to sustain trout.[12] According to Conservation Halton (2020), recreational fishing opportunities exist throughout the Sixteen Mile Creek watershed. The Mill Pond, provides excellent angling opportunities for a number of panfish and carp.

Mill pond and the mill site now provide recreation, after a century of carrying the burden of creating livelihood for the towners. It is an excellent parkland for all seasons; light snow, spring blossom, summer green and the fall foliage on the water provide spectacular venue for numerous pleasure activities.[22]

It included dredging the entire pond of about 30,000 cubic metres of sediment to eradicate the roots of the invasive weed European milfoil. The weed created an esthetic and ecological mess since the milfoil strangled native plant life, such as bulrushes and lily pads, in the pond. The much-photographed gazebo was built in 2001.