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Mississippi Mills, Ontario (Canada)

Lanark County

Last modified: 2017-05-12 by rob raeside
Keywords: mississippi mills | ontario |
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[Mississippi Mills, Ontario] image by Ivan Sache, 17 April 2017
Source: Town Administration


See also:


The Municipality

The municipality of Mississippi Mills was established on 1 January 1998 as the merger of the town of Almonte and of the townships of Ramsay and Pakenham.
Ivan Sache, 17 April 2017


Description of the flag

A blue-white-blue Canadian pale in a 2:3 dimension with the municipal shield featuring a millstone, cog-wheel and waterwheel and bridge, centred.

The flag and arms of Mississippi Mills were inscribed on 15 January 2007 on the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges, Vol. V, p. 105. The announcement of the Letters Patent was made on 6 October 2007, in Vol. 141, p. 2,825 of the Canada Gazette.

Blazon
Arms
Per fess vert and azure, a stone bridge of five arches between in chief a millstone and a cogwheel, and in base a water wheel or.
Crest
A demi-unicorn or gorged with a collar of thistles and trefoils vert resting its sinister hoof on an open book argent bound azure.
Supporters
Dexter a plough horse, sinister a ram, each or, gorged with a collar of thistles and trefoils, and standing on a mound of maple leaves vert.
Motto
PERGAMUS UNA
Flag
Azure on a Canadian pale Argent an escutcheon of the Arms

Symbolism
Arms
The bridge refers to the “Five Span Bridge” in Pakenham, one of the three municipalities that amalgamated to form Mississippi Mills. Green represents agriculture and blue the Mississippi River and the importance it has played in the region’s development. The three wheels refer to the name Mississippi Mills, which honours the woollen mills, lumber mills and grist mills located by the river.
Crest
The unicorn alludes to the unicorn head crest of George Ramsay, Earl of Dalhousie and Governor General of Canada, after whom the Township of Ramsay, another of the pre-amalgamation municipalities, was named. The thistles and shamrocks represent the Scottish and Irish origins of the region’s first settlers. The book indicates the importance of education in the Town.
Supporters
The horse and the ram indicate the importance of agriculture in the development of Mississippi Mills. The ram is also a symbol found in the emblem used by the town of Almonte, the third pre-amalgamation municipality. The compartment of maple leaves represents Canada.
Motto
Meaning “Let us go forward together”.

Artist Information
Creator(s): Original concept of Karine Constantineau, Miramichi Herald, assisted by the heralds of the Canadian Heraldic Authority
Painter: Debra MacGarvie
Calligrapher: Doris Wionzek

http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1112 - Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges

The Pakenham Five Span bridge was built in 1901/1903 by Scottish stone masons; O’Toole & Keating of Ottawa. It was constructed over the Mississippi River and rapids at Pakenham with stone from a local quarry. This five-arch stone bridge is the only one of its kind in North America. It is believed to be the only one of its kind in the world outside Russia. The bridge has an overall length of 268 feet, is 22 feet high and is only 25 feet wide. The largest stone used in the construction weighs 5 tonnes.
http://www.lanarkcounty.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=4511

General George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie (1770-1838), styled Lord Ramsay until 1787, was Governor of Nova Scotia from 1816 to 1820 and Governor General of British North America from 1820 to 1828.
http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=3625 - Dictionary of Canadian Biography

[The image from the Register shows the flag with proportions 2:3 but the grant describes the flag as a "Canadian pale"; accordingly, the flag, if ever used, must be in 1:2 proportions]
Ivan Sache, 17 April 2017