Love, Loss, and the Ghost of Watson’s Mill

Joseph Currier’s life was a rollercoaster of success and heartbreak, but it’s his tragic love story and the ghostly whispers of Watson’s Mill that still keep people talking about him almost two centuries later.

(As heard in the Weird Darkness episode, ALIEN ARTIFACTS: PHYSICAL EVIDENCE LEFT BY UFOS.)

The life of Joseph Merrill Currier was a classic case of Murphy’s Law. He was born in Troy, Vermont in 1820 and, at the age of seventeen, moved to Ottawa, Canada to work in the lumber business. He became successful over the next twenty-five years, owning a number of sawmills and businesses in the Ottawa area. He even constructed a grand house at 24 Sussex Drive, which subsequently became Canada’s Prime Minister’s residence. But while he enjoyed success, Currier faced tragedy in his personal life.

Currier married Christina Wilson in 1846; they had four children. Then disaster struck. In those five days, three of their little children died of scarlet fever — a common and deadly disease in those days. Cristina, too, died three years after losing the children. People claimed she died of the grief of losing her kids.

On his second trip to Lake George, two years after Christina’s death, Currier spent a month in the Crosbyside Hotel. There, he encountered Ann, the daughter of the hotel owner. They fell in love and married the next year. To celebrate their marriage, Currier took Ann to tour his properties, such as his mill in Manotick (now known as Watson’s Mill).

This is against the background of something terrible happening when they visit the mill. Ann had on a hoop dress, which was so broad that it could be hazardous because she could easily walk into something accidentally. Two different accounts describe what happened next. The popular account goes that Ann separated herself from the group, and something in her dress became entangled in the mill’s machinery. The machine hurled her into a post and she died on impact.

But there is another version of the story, one told by Lord Rosebery, who went on to be prime minister of Britain. Ten years later he visited the mill and recorded what Currier had told him. In this rendition, Currier witnessed the machine kill Ann on their wedding day; it was not in a later visit as such. This difference in accounts has left some wondering what actually took place that day.

Things went from bad to worse for Currier once Ann died. His mill burnt down and he lost most of his money. He was elected a member of Parliament, but had to resign when a young politician named Wilfrid Laurier accused him of violating the rules regarding conflicts of interest. Ann’s ghost is said to still appear at Watson’s Mill and around Parliament Hill.

Ironically, in a strange twist, the hotel Currier met Ann at was subsequently purchased by someone from the same Vermont hometown. It evolved into a retreat for women named Wiawaka, which it remains to this day.

What happened to Ann Currier, no one knows. Some believe it was simply a horrible accident, while others suspect there may be more to the story. What we do know is that Joseph Currier led a life of tremendous success, followed by terrible tragedy.