Southwold 175 - February
More
Industry, Commerce and Historical Impact
Photo Gallery: Southwold 175 - February will appear here on the public site.
MacPherson, Glasgow and Co. 1848 - 1898
While Southwold has primarily been an agricultural community for the past 175 years, there have been periods where industry was of principal importance to the economy.
Southwold’s first manufacturing industry was the highly successful MacPherson, Glasgow and Co. which operated in Fingal, 1848 – 1898.
In 1819 an immigrant from Scotland arrived in the Talbot Settlement with a vision. Daniel MacPherson had always enjoyed working with his hands and “fixing things”.
In 1847, MacPherson made a trip to Lockport, New York, to secure experienced workmen. Here he enlisted the services of William Glasgow, a woodworker, and Metthias Hovey, an ironworker.
The trio of entrepreneurs built a small shop and foundry in the nearby village of Fingal, Ontario, and began the manufacture of pioneer tools and implements of many kinds.
The firm was called MacPherson, Glasgow and Company. Their products met with ready sale and before many years the small shop had grown into an extensive establishment.
Meanwhile roads were being built inland and settlers following in large numbers.
Spin off businesses (wheelwrights, carriage makers, upholsterers, blacksmiths, etc.) sprung up in Fingal to compliment the foundry.
MacPherson, Glasgow and Co. manufactured saw and gristmill machinery along with agricultural machines and was successful for thirteen years until the foundry burned down in 1861.
At the time of the fire, they already had a sister foundry at Clinton, Huron County, so they were able to limp along until a new and larger foundry was built on the same site.
The new foundry buildings were two-storey in· structure, one hundred feet in length and thirty-two feet in width. An adjoining building, the blacksmith and moulding building, measured one hundred feet in length and forty feet in width. Fifty to sixty workers were employed by the foundry.
In the 1870s, MacPherson, Glasgow and Co. and their sister foundry in Clinton Ontario gained national and international recognition for their manufacture of threshing machines.
A threshing machine or a thresher is a piece of farm equipment that separates grain seed from the stalks and husks. It does so by beating the plant to make the seeds fall out. Before such machines were developed, threshing was done by hand with flails: such hand threshing was very laborious and time-consuming,
The success of this industry raised the Southwold village of Fingal to a position of prominence in the Talbot Settlement. The population of Fingal in 1865 was six hundred. At its peak, Fingal boasted a population of 1000 people.
However, when the Canada Southern Railway line was not built through the village in 1872, Fingal’s fortunes began to fall as residents and businesses began to look at larger centres like St. Thomas.
Fingal's decline was furthered when the foundry was destroyed by fire in 1898. The foundry was never rebuilt and Fingal’s population began a gradual decrease.
References: Sim’s History of Elgin / Wikipedia
Elgin Historical Atlas 1877
https://www.farmcollector.com/steam-traction/canadian-notes-may-1952
1872 - Railways Impact Southwold Township
The development of steam-powered railways in the 19th century revolutionized transportation in Canada. The railroad played an integral role in the process of industrialization, opening up new markets and tying regions together. In 1873 this innovation triggered significant changes to Southwold Township rural life, and furthered its economic prosperity.
A number of train stations, stops, and rail sidings dotted our Township's landscape at one time, providing direct connections to larger markets, including St. Thomas to the east, and several American stations.
| Shedden |
|
When it became evident that a railroad was to pass through the quiet village of Corsley, several people turned up to exploit the expected prosperity. John Shedden, president of the Toronto & Nipissing Railway arrived in 1871 and purchased a large tract of land that he subdivided into town lots, and Corsley became known as Shedden. The village became a bustling grain depot when area M.P. George Casey built a grain elevator, leading to many other related businesses being established. Shedden had two rail lines and two stations. The Canada Southern Railway, later taken over by the Michigan Central Railway, opened a station in 1872. In the early 1900s, the Pere Marquette Railways, which became the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1948, opened a station to serve that line. |
|
Southwold Station |
|
The Southwold Station came into being in 1873 when the Canada Southern Railroad installed an extension known as the "Milk Run" to service the St. Clair River district. This put the area on the map, and in a short time this little crossroad settlement boasted of having two hotels, two blacksmith shops, a general merchant and post office, a church, a meeting hall, a stave mill, a railway station and a sawmill. |
|
Lawrence Station |
|
In 1870 the Great Western Railway Company purchased land for the Canadian Air Line Railway, known as the "Loop Line", and operated five trains daily from Glencoe to Fort Erie, crossing into Buffalo in the U.S.A. In 1882, the Great Western amalgamated with the Grant Trunk Railway Company. The Grand Trunk was leased by the Wabash Railway in 1897 for 99 years, and used jointly by both companies. In 1886, a local train from St. Thomas to Chatham, known as "The Loop" or better known locally as "The Hog Special" was initiated. This train was regularly used by students from this area who attended Glencoe High School. In the early 1900s the Wabash operated 10 to 12 passenger trains daily through Lawrence Station, and the Grand Trunk operated 4 local passenger trains daily. In 1920 the Grand Trunk was taken over by the Canadian National Railway. The Lawrence Railway Station also served as the telegraph office, and was built here in 1880. |
|
Iona Station |
|
Iona Station was born in 1872 with the arrival of the Canada Southern Railway. It became a thriving metropolis that at one time had a post office, cheese factory, hotel, grist mill, and a general store. |
|
Middlemarch |
|
In 1872 the Pere Marquette Railroad Tracks intersected Fingal Line (then called Talbot Road) at Middlemarch. This train, carrying passengers and farm produce, would halt at the flag stop when signaled to do so. Sugar beets were a major crop in this area at one time, and Middlemarch was where the harvest was loaded for transport. |
|
Talbotville and The Traction Line |
|
Beginning in 1906, the South Western Traction Company operated an electric railway, primarily hauling passengers from London to Port Stanley. In 1909, the line was renamed the London and Lake Erie Railway, and ceased operations in 1918. Throughout its short life, the line was always referred to locally as "The Traction Line". The track ran through Southwold Township, with Stop 43, or "Sunnyside Stop" in Talbotville. |
Ford Motor Assembly Plant 1965-2011
In the 20th Century, Southwold once again experienced an industrial windfall when Ford Canada expanded to the Talbotville area.
In their July 16, 1965 edition, the St. Thomas Times – Journal printed rumours’ of Ford Canada’s interest in properties just north of the Southwold community of Talbotville.
The site was considered “ideal for a major manufacturing industry because of its close proximity to Highway 401, Highway 3 running between Windsor and Niagara Falls, the north-south Highway 4 and its position midway between the Oakville-Oshawa and Windsor automotive centres. Well-served by major railways, the area is also close to the St. Thomas-London labour market."
In May 1966, removal of buildings and trees began as 635 acres of farm land was prepared for construction of the Ford St. Thomas Assembly Plant.
Excitement from surrounding communities around Southwold drew interest from local and national media at the ground breaking ceremony on June 28, 1966. Ontario Premier John Robarts participated in the event.
The 2,600,000 square foot (240,000 m2) facility, opened in 1967. The construction cost of the industrial complex was estimated at $65,000,000.
The site would include a distinctive 121 ½ foot-high "Selectivity Tower” housing 40 partly finished automobiles. The tower permitted movements of units in and out of the assembly line to obtain better balance in the trim department. The tower became an iconic beacon to travellers along HWY 4 with the distinctive FORD Logo and large Canadian flag visible at the highest point of the factory.
The first vehicle, a gleaming white Ford Falcon station wagon rolled off the line, driven by Santa Claus, on December 18, 1967. Dignitaries were joined by 1,200 employees who gathered to watch ceremonies commemorating the completion of Job 1. The vehicle was purchased by the St. Thomas Times-Journal.
United Auto Workers’ Union, Local 1520 was formed in January 1968. The role of the UAW was to negotiate and safeguard the benefits of the workers.
In 1985, Canadian members of the U.S. based United Auto Works Union decided to establish their own Canadian controlled union, forming the Canadian Auto Workers Union. From 1985 until the plant closed in September, 2011, workers at the Ford St. Thomas Assembly Plant were represented by Local 1520 of the CAW.
The relationship between the company and the workers overcame many contentious issues and continued to produce award winning vehicles for the duration of the plant operations.
Ford provided employment, residential housing and commercial growth. Southwold’s municipal tax base was impacted substantially over this period.
Ford Talbotville and Local 1520 were positive benefactors to the regional communities through sponsorships and charitable donations. The plant won various awards for its environmental awareness, quality and business achievements.
From 1967 to 1997, Ford produced some of the most popular vehicles of the era.
The impressive lineup of locally produced Ford automobiles includes:
| Falcon | Maverick |
| Pinto/Bobcat | Fairmont/Zephyr |
| LN7/EXP | Escort/Lynx |
| Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis | Crown Victoria NGV |
The Ford St. Thomas Assembly Plant produced Ford Crown Victoria vehicles from 1983 to 1990. Many of the Crown Victoria cars produced were sold as police vehicles. The Crown Victoria Police Interceptor was a stand-alone model created created by Ford in 1999. The Crown Victoria was only sold as a fleet vehicle to police and taxi companies after 2008. If you watch movies and television dramas over the period of 1983-2011, many of the police cars shown in the production will have been built at Ford Talbotville. On September 15, 2011, the final Ford Crown Victoria rolled off the assembly line at St. Thomas Assembly Plant and the era of Ford Talbotville ended.
References: https://www.elgincounty.ca/ElginCounty/CulturalServices/Archives/st_thomas_ford_exhibit/index.html
Amazon Fulfilment Warehouse 2023-?
As we look forward to the 200th year of Southwold in 2050, a new industry will lead the way.
Amazon's new robotic fulfilment centre, named YXU1 after the code name for London International Airport, opened October 1, 2023. The 186,000 square metre (two million square foot) facility in the Township of Southwold will employ more than 1,000 workers who will pick, pack, and ship up to 750,000 items a day with the help of robotics technology.
Built on the site of the former Ford Canada Assembly Plant, Amazon projects optimism for further residential and commercial growth in Southwold.
There is also a significant amount of industrial and commercial lands that are just waiting to be developed. Opportunity is thriving in Southwold!
Contact Us