The Rural Voice, 2001-07, Page 30A Work of Art
Old Varna feed mill becomes
home, art studio
Story and photos
by Janice Becker
l �noe
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The old Varna Feed Mill has a new life as an art studio and home for artist
Fraser Aylsworth (below) and his partner Catherine Abel. People connected
with the old building are glad to see it in use after years of abandonment.
26 THE RURAL VOICE
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Left abandoned, the historic and
community importance of the
Varna mill was slowly being
shrouded by cobwebs and dust.
Today, it has been given another
chance at life, revitalized as an
attraction to visitors and townsfolk
alike.
Located at the intersection of
Huron County Road 3 (Mill Rd.) and
County Road 31 (Parr Line) in the
quiet hamlet of Varna, painter and
sculptor Fraser Aylsworth and his
partner Catherine Abel have
resurrected the beauty of the old mill,
brought back to life as Black Sheep
Studio.
A long-time British Columbia
resident, Aylsworth first learned of
the mill's existence when his brother
suggested it as a great location for an
art gallery.
Aylsworth was soon on a plane
and the mill was purchased. "I was
impressed by the,size and the space,"
he says.
' Unoccupied for a few years,
Aylsworth says the mill had become
home to several wild cats and rodents
and remnants of the previous
business were still evident with
grains and chaff filling wall spaces.
With the help of neighbours,
Aylsworth has learned a great deal
about the structure. Built in the late
1800s, it had been used as a mill
since the 1930s. Over it life, it had
also served as a bank and tailor shop
after the original use as a 'general
store.
One of those neighbours who
helped supply background for the old
mill was Norm Smith, a life-long
resident of Varna and former
employee of the mill.
Not only did Smith work at the
chopping mill for 28 years, but he
was known to lend a hand while still
in public school.
Prior to its transformation into a
mill, Smith says the building was
used as a branch of the Seaforth
Sterling Bank, and though he was too
young to have an account there, he
knows someone, still in the area,
who did.
The development of the chopping
mill began in 1935 when William
Reid, a local man accustomed to
traveling to the United States for
work, decided'it was time to try
something different.