In 1908, Robert William Gladstone (1879-1951), Henry Burton Sharman (1865-1953) and John N. Lyon of Manitoba, combined forces to form the Ontario Metal Culvert Company. The letters of patent issued for…

In 1915, Alex Callander, age 55, left the Taylor-Forbes Company with plans to set up his own foundry business in St. Patrick’s Ward. He had been a moulder with standing.…

The Royal Carpet Factory operated in Guelph in a few locations starting off with 15 employees in a shop at the corner of Gordon and Essex Streets. At least two…

In 1872, Burr and Skinner operated a furniture factory in a newly constructed 2-storey building on the north side of Oxford. With a workforce of between They manufactured a variety…

Brooms were an essential tool for Guelph’s housewives. Shopkeepers, hotel operators and other service and retail personnel also needed them to sweep floors, the sidewalks in front of their shops…

Beer and ale were important to early and even later settlers. Many innkeepers produced it on site – small batches of a select brew they could sell in their hotels/inns.…

Post-War Following the War, a well-known member of the Guelph Historical Society, the late Eber Pollard (1919-2008), also located here when he worked for Federal Wire in 1951 as chief…

In 1919, Live Wire, a branch of an American company, moved into the basement of a building on Metcalfe Street. At that point, it was housing FE Partridge Rubber. It…

Other Boot and Shoe ManufacturersDuring the 19th century, Guelph was home to a few boot and shoe makers. Whether they operated factories or small shops and how mechanized they were remains…

Originally, the making of boots and shoes was a craft requiring great skill and training. Like blacksmiths shoemakers had to go through an apprentice system. Shoemakers, who preferred not to…