Maitland Tower

Very cool, worth stopping at

Love watching this building come to life. The Christmas lights are stunning too.

Good place to visit

Historical significance of the area

For all it's rich history this is probably one of the least utilized Canadian historical sites I've visited. Over looking the shores of the St. Lawrence river this lone stone tower hearkens us back to an earlier time when the village of Maitland was just starting and to some even earlier then that. Converted by George C Longley in 1828 this is one of the oldest surving windmills in Ontario. At one point this mill produced over 150 bags of flour a day and employed up to 20 people. Longley was a character of note in the history of this area and had ties to the rosicrucian and freemason movement in Ontario. There was even said to be a Rosie Crux occult school started in Maitland. Some scholars claim this tower was originally a military structure for the templers against the Norse. The research that has gone into the history of this tower is amazing, unfortunately the work gone in to make this a public attraction has been negligible. It is worth the read and a drive by however and since the land around the tower had recently been bought by a new owner we can only hope that he will be making some changes as to provide greater public Access and share the unique historical experience only the stone village of Maitland provides. Living near the tower I have seen a recent ownership change and work start to be done, who knows what it may be tomorrow!