This Year’s Exhibition

DOLLAR WATER MILLS

The new exhibition for 2025 is on Dollar Water Mills. Dollar has always had an excellent potential supply of waterpower in the Dollar Burn and the River Devon. The exhibition looks at the mills which used this power in the past. The mills are:

• The Dollar Mill was the grain mill for the village from mediaeval times. It was situated in the Mill Green. A copy of the earliest Campbell charter to mention the mill will be on display. It has been obtained from Argyll Estates Archives in Inveraray and dates from 1582, but the mill was undoubtedly in existence much earlier. The photo below shows an archaeological dig in 1978-80.
• The Woollen Mills. There were two woollen mills, the second of which is now the Castle Campbell Hall. Part of the Hall is now Dollar Museum.
• The Rackmill, originally a grain mill. The building can still be seen beside the road bridge over the River Devon near the Chalet Park at Dollarfield.
• The Bleachworks at Dollarfield: two parts of the works were water powered. The main works on the east side of the Devon Road was founded in 1787. It was demolished in 20th century and the Chalet Park now fills the site. The second mill was the West Mill on the west side of the Devon Road, which is now a private house.

A main feature of the exhibition is a watercolour by H.W. Williams (known as ‘Grecian Williams’), showing how the mill complex in the Mill Green looked around 1796. This was only recently discovered and was bought at auction by a Friend of the Museum, who is kindly lending it for this exhibition.

photo shows archaeological dig (1978-80)