Laura McLean

Laura McLean, the last surviving McLean in the Alberni Valley, has passed away at the age of 92. Laura is remembered as the woman who gave the McLean Mill to the city of Port Alberni on behalf of the McLean family. But Laura is also remembered by her family and friends as a community-oriented woman who loved the Alberni Valley. …The McLean Mill was established in 1925 by Robert Bartlett McLean, his wife Cora, and their three sons. It was a family-run operation. …Laura donated McLean Mill to the city shortly after her husband’s death in 1983 because she—and her late husband—wanted to see the mill’s history preserved. The McLean Mill was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1989, and opened to tourists in 2000.