David Rogers was born in Llanstephen, Caermarthenshire, Wales in 1831. In 1839, his parents, Jonah Rogers and Anna Thomas, brought their family to settle at Central Bedeque, Prince Edward Island (after a brief stop in Nova Scotia) near where the Trans Canada Highway now crosses the Dunk River. Jonah Rogers was a whitesmith and farmer.

In 1854, David Rogers bought a farm in Freetown. In 1867, he began leasing the Dunk River Mills in South Freetown from the widow of George Miller Wright. Rogers bought the mills and the 125 acre farm in 1870. The Rogers home on the property was known as Kentleth Lodge and the mills included shingle, saw, grist, and woolen mills. Rogers had two men working in the mills full time, plus extra help in the busy season. Women were hired to work in the carding mill. A blacksmith shop also operated on the site. In 1906 David Rogers sold the mill and six acres to Albert Oakes. Later the grist mill building became a hydro plant. Austin Scales later operated the Scales Hydro Electric Company here from 1929 to 1963. After David Rogers