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Pierre Bessette’s Water Wheel

A woman is looking at the remains of a large wooden waterwheel. Tall grass and trees have grown around the waterwheel.

Lumby Historical Society

Pierre Bessette was born in Quebec and came to Lumby around 1875.  He married the widow of Thomas Christian, Eunice (Martin) and raised 9 children, including Thomas – Eunice’s son from her first marriage.

Pierre and his partner Charlie Levasseur built and operated the first sawmill in Lumby. It was powered by a water wheel that used water movement to turn an axle which in turn provided power for sawmill’s machinery.

Around the turn of the century, mills began to convert to electricity and the waterwheel became obsolete.