On Saturday, June 17, 1978 at 2:30 p.m., a provincial plaque was unveiled at a former Rosamond mill building at 7 Mill Street in Almonte (near the present-day textile museum) to commemorate the Rosamond Family, prominent 19th-century figures in the Canadian woollen industry.
The plaque was unveiled by three great-granddaughters of James Rosamund, Sr., founder of the mill.
THE ROSAMUNDS IN ALMONTE
In 1857, James Rosamond built this mill on the Mississippi River, thereby firmly establishing the woolen industry in Almonte. An Irish-born entrepreneur, Rosamond was previously a resident of nearby Carleton Place where, in 1846, he had built one of the first woolen factories in this part of Upper Canada (Ontario). In 1866, his sons, Bennett and William, then in control, expanded the firm by constructing another larger mill in Almonte, and in 1882, Bennett also founded the Almonte Knitting Company. The Rosamonds' alliance with Montreal financial interests contributed significantly to their success. By 1890, the Rosamond woolen concerns, at the height of their influence, employed over 500 people in Almonte, then reputedly the seat of the woolen trade in Canada.