Wakeham Sawmill is located on 14 Riverside Extension Drive in Placentia.
It is a two storey, wooden, painted, vernacular building originally constructed in 1912 by John Wakeham as a fishing stage in Petite Forte, Newfoundland. The building was dismantled in 1942 and was moved by schooner to its current location and adapted to house a carpentry business by brothers Cyril, William and Leonard Wakeham.
Until the seawall was built and the road expanded that sawmill stood on pylons over the water. At the time that Wakeham Sawmill was erected with a “shored up” post and beam the Orcan River flowed under the building such that logs could float from neighbouring Southeast to the sawmill. There is a trapdoor on the ground floor. They would shovel the sawdust out through the trapdoor and let the tide take it away. The Orcan River beach has since been altered to protect low-lying Placentia and as a result, the Wakeham Sawmill now stands on dry land. This is the only building of its type remaining on the Placentia beach.
This is a registered heritage structure recognised in 2005/10/07. It is also a Municipal Heritage Building recognised in 2006/08/19.
Parking is available along side the property.
GPS Location: 47.245893; -53.958959