'Steal & Run' - the S&R Story

 

Ask a long-time Kingstonian about downtown department stores of yore, and the one that always comes up is Smith & Robinson's, the much-revered and oft-remembered S&R (colloquially known as 'Steal & Run' or even 'S*** & Rubbish'! At its cornerstone location of Princess and Ontario Streets (George Lilley captured its imposing presence in 1960 - Queen's University Archives - top photo), it was well-known for a variety of wares. My Dad bought a suit there once, and we bought kids' clothes, candy & chips, toys, hardware items, well...anything and everything - always affordable. The store was a Kingston keystone, geographically and commercially, at that dividing line between north & south, town & gown, and the gateway to east & west sides of Kingston's harbour. In fact, if one stood on the roof of the Richardson grain elevator, with a lake vessel docked below you at the foot of Princess Street, the building was literally a stone's throw (especially if gifted with a good pitching arm!) from the water. Check out the roof-top water-tower, marking its location:

In its regular Friday Whig advertisements in the winter-spring of 1975, among the "5000 sweaters...leisure suits...quality leather coats...and suede jackets!" the store included a ten-part tiny block of its (then) 155-year history on a bi-weekly basis. Taken together, these well-researched tiny text-boxes give the entire history of the building and its evolution from a variety of uses into the 'Steal & Run'. 

More detail on the piano business in Kingston, some of it involving this venerable building: 

Built circa 1820, the curved corner section dating from 1840, the building was first a grocery store, then a shopping arcade before becoming a piano factory. John and Charles Fox moved their piano-making business to Kingston from New York City in 1862. In 1865 George Weber joined the firm, taking full ownership after Charles Fox died in 1869. Reorganizing in the late 1890’s as The Weber Piano Company, the firm produced Weber and McMullen pianos. In 1896, William Wormwith joined the firm, then reorganized it as the Wormwith Piano Company, building a full line of upright and grand pianos under the brand names of Weber, Wormwith and Columbia. Mr. Henry Richardson bought a controlling interest upon Mr. Wormwith’s retirement in 1919, reorganizing it as the Weber Piano Company, Kingston Limited until the Great Depression and the company’s demise in the late 1930’s. In 1939, the Lesage Piano Company purchased all assets, continuing the use of the well-established Weber and Wormwith names until 1961. The building operated as S&R department store from 1959-2009.

UPDATE: In September, 2025 the Smith-Robinson (S&R) building has sold for $17.8 million to Caraco Development.

1924 Oblique Air Photos of Kingston

On September 25, 1924 an unknown photographer made passes along the Kingston waterfront, from the west, to the east and north into the Inner Harbour then carrying on to Cedar Island. The remarkable black & white photographs are part of the Queen's University Library, with the negatives held in the National Air Photo Library in Ottawa. 

By clicking on the red dots on this Queen's webpage shown above in the photo key, a high-resolution photo can be viewed and/or downloaded. Here's an example - as always, click for a larger version You are there!

Some years ago, I'd visited Queen's Joseph S. Stauffer Library where these photos were held. The staff kindly photocopied them for me, and they've proved to be invaluable in learning about, and modelling 'Kingston's Hanley Spur'.

Another set of well-known aerial photos was taken by Billy Bishop and William Barker's air service in 1919, promoted by Kingston Frameworks in 2019. Duck, parishioners!

The Skeleton Press Article

In December, 2021 I published a post about my engaging interview with Lawrence Scanlan for an upcoming issue of the Skeleton Park Arts Festival's The Skeleton Press. The Spring, 2022 issue includes Lawrence's article on my 'passion project'. Here's the cover:

The local newspaper not only encourages local content and distribution at several sites (below) but also sharing of each issue with others. Its thought-provoking content, fresh look, lack of full-page ads and diverse editorial stance makes it a departure from the remnants of the Kingston Whig-Standard, which previously had all those attributes. Publisher Michael Davies, who recently left us, would be proud of thoughtful contributors like Lawrence, graphic designer Vince Perez and Professor Laura Murray, all of whom I've been pleased to get to know as part of my book-creating, blogging, model-building, train-running sojourn through history!

Here's an image of the article (below), but I highly recommend reading the whole issue. It's available online at this pdf link.

 

Track Work on Ontario Street, 1963

It would not be surprising if you think the title of this post doesn't ring a bell. One might think Ontario Street is just a street, but it used to have a surprising amount of track on it. These photos show a surprisingly large track gang working on rails and a switch along Ontario. Seeing the Tete du Pont barracks/Fort Frontenac outer wall in the background, and the Public Utilities Commission building at left (above), it was clear that the location would be Ontario at Barrack Streets.

But what was the story behind the photos? Why such a large gang, why here, and why in July 1963? Especially considering the waterfront trackage was gone by 1970.

Some other interesting details 

• gang members came from as far west as Ernestown and as far east as Findley and Gananoque
• the trackage was being converted from 85 pounds per yard to 100
• the gang comprised 40 men
• the work started at 0400 and 11 rails were put in place
• being from the steam era, each section man could hammer a spike into the tie with five or six hammer swings
• asphalt had to be dug out to reach the ties

A 1951 aerial view of the worksite: 

There was a time constraint, because though CN owned the track, CP used it to reach their yard across from City Hall, and a switchman's shanty was located near here, guarding the joint trackage. The CP (formerly Kingston & Pembroke) trackage diverges from the joint section at right, CN at left:

The newspaper photo is adequate, but the cropped newsprint image in the Whig clipping (above) makes the photo look like pointillism. There's nothing like the original negatives, from the Queen's University Archives, to bring out the detail:

Three Visitors to the Hanley Spur!

Vince, Heather and Laura

The pandemic has a way of elasticizing time and making everything seem longer and slower. So it was with a special visit today that was envisioned over two years ago. Laura Murray, a Professor of English at Queen's University, has been spearheading the Swamp Ward and Inner Harbour History Project (SWIHHP). This multi-faceted project documented the personal stories of the people who lived and worked in the part of town that I model here on the Hanley Spur, utilizing community-based and oral history. Laura had seen this blog and was intrigued. Today, we managed to finally arrange a visit!

Along with Laura were two other interested visitors who had worked with her on the SWIHHP. Vince Perez is Art Director for The Skeleton Press, a most interesting 'Neighbourhood Focused, Pulp-Based Journalism' serving McBurney Park and surrounding area. I've been enjoying Vince's work mostly online, but also in two paper editions.  Heather Home is a Public Services/Private Records Archvist at Queen's University Archives, a place I hope to return later this spring. Heather and her staff have been very helpful, and are integral to my research

Of course I was so pleased that my visitors were readily able to point out models of various prototype buildings that they recognized! And that they could imagine themselves strolling the streets of the industrial waterfront of Kingston as HO-scale visitors.

We kept our visit COVID-friendly (save for a brief unmasked moment for the top photo). That didn't inhibit my visitors' enthusiasm and their insightful inquiries. After a chance to see all parts of the layout from the aisle, I emplaced the continuous-run option so I could demonstrate switching industries on CN and CP trackage. This added much to their appreciation not only of the modelling I've done, but also the prototype-based operating system used on the layout. In other words, how the prototype industries were served by the railways, and how I've replicated it.

I look forward to following up on some intriguing ideas we discussed:

• making my digitized images available to others through the Archives
• digitally preserving this blog also through the Archives
• linking oral histories in a multi-media nexus to parts of my layout
• other ways to take my layout 'outside the basement'
• returning to the archives to follow up on some leads I have uncovered

Watch for more on the current issue of The Skeleton Press upon its release, with Vince's work and my interview with editor Larry Scanlan.

Heather looking over Kimco scrap 

Woolen Mill - History

Overview - Known locally as the Woolen Mill, this four-storey 1882 enterprise was originally known as the Kingston Cotton Manufacturing Company. A single-storey extension was added in 1883, and there are 12- and 16-inch pine beams throughout the windowed structure. The mill produced cloth, most notably for the armed forces during wartime on its 3.6-acre site. Shuttered by the Great Depression, it was later known as Hield Bros. operating under that name for 35 years until closure in 1966, due to declining demand and the rise of newer textile technology. The building has successfully passed between various owners becoming home to several businesses including the Kingston Whig-Standard. An early view with two tracks along Orchard Street in right foreground, and a 2022 view:

The mill building cost $200,000, with machinery costing $160,000. There were 65 looms installed in January, 1882 and another 135 expected before opening one month later. The Kingston Cotton Manufacturing Company employed 250 in 1886, with 300 looms under President James Richardson. Dominion Textile Co., in some reports originally named Dominion Cotton or Dominion Cotton Mills, acquired the mill in 1890. Dominion had other mills at Hochelaga and Cornwall. Much has been written about the predominantly-female workforce at the mill, including teenagers, and the dangerous nature of the work, as early as 1899. On September 19, 1895 a storm caused damage to 2,500 square feet of roofing. The roof of the mill's tower lifted right off. Damage totalled $80,000. A June, 1888 notice from the Whig:

Cotton was coming from Mississippi and Texas in 1912, with coal shipments arriving via the mill's wharf on the Inner Harbour. The plant was billed as self-sufficient, bringing in its own coal, producing its own power, electric light and fire protection. The mill spent $13,500 on freight annually. Finished cotton was packed into 600-pound bales containing 2,200 yards covered in paper and burlap and hooped with iron. The mill was operated by Dominion until 1929. 

A fire insurance map image marked 'Silent, Aug. 1929': 

In 1930, British textile companies were buying mills in Canada due to additional tariffs that made Canadian-based operations more advantageous.  Canadian textile factories would only have to import 15% of woolens, previous set at 50%. Examples were George M. Hirst Co. Ltd of Batley buying a mill in Carleton Place, ON and Hiram Leach Co., also from England buying a mill in Huntington, QC. Climatic conditions and water that replicated those in Lancashire were sought after. Thus, the Hield Co. leased, then purchased the Woolen Mill. 

In February, 1931 the Hield Brothers of England signed an agreement to purchase the Dominion Textile building for $75,000. There was controversy at the time about the by-law enacted by the city to cover the purchase. The official opening was in late-July of 1931. W.S. (Stan) Grimshaw was the first manager, and he died at the age of 53 on November 3, 1937. A July, 1938 Whig ad gives some history:

In 1935, mill output was 12,000 yards per week of cloth for men's suitings. By 1939, 200 workers were employeed. 

As part of a Victory Metal drive in September, 1943 the three 16x20-foot locomotive-style upright boilers and the huge engine that once powered the cotton mill were sold for salvage at $5 per ton. Originally costing 1,400 pounds, the engine, produced by J. & E. Wood of Bolton, England was 40 tons with a 22-foot wheel, turning 60 revolutions and powered by 580-hp engine, cycling 69 feet of 3-foot-wide belt with each revolution. The main belt led to more complex belt arrangements at each loom. The engine was first started on January 21, 1883. As of 1931, when woolen production replaced cotton, the earlier propulsion method became obsolete, with electric motors installed. The scrap was shipped to Toronto by train. An October, 1943 Whig ad: 

Closure of the mill was confirmed by Hield Brothers on August 31, 1966. St. Francis Developments took over ownership.

In July, 1969 the mill was bought by Dominion Industries of Kingston. Kingston Spinners, a subsidiary of Carolina's Mill Craft Corporation purchased 14.5 acres of land on Dalton Avenue for a planned $2.5 million, 50,000 square foot mill. Dominion Industries was operating a pilot plant in 40,000 square feet of the Woolen Mill's leased space before their new plant was ready.

In 1984, the mill was redeveloped to the Woolen Mill Centre by John Hansen and Wilf & Mary Eagle, but was down to 30% occupancy. A September, 1986 Whig ad: 

The mill was bought by Doornekamp/ABNA Investments in July, 1993 with 75,000 square feet of space available. The sale was through National Trust, and included the adjacent 3.26-acre demolition yard. The new owner planned refurbished commercial space, including the Kingston Whig-Standard offices.

R. Bruce Warmington wrote a book on the Woolen Mill, 'But Before That'. A copy is available in the reference section of the Kingston-Frontenac Public Library. I have yet to read it, but I"m sure it includes a complete history of the mill.

Memories...

I worked at Hield Bros., making woven fabric for men’s suits. My job was in the office for $25 per week, working Monday to Friday from 9 to 5. 

Wool suits were made there. My dad was a foreman. He took the job right after World War II. 

In 1964, I worked there in my teenage years, crawling under the huge machines to put belts back on the pulleys. A real sweat shop! 

By the time I worked at the mil, it was owned by Hield Bros. They wove some of the finest worsted cloth in Canada there. Royal Canadian Mounted Police scarlet, and Royal Canadian Air Force dress blue were two examples. 

Kingston Industries' Contributions to the War Effort

In August, 1945 VJ-Day marked the end of World War II. Kingston's industries contributed people and production to the Allied war effort. Here's a snapshot from the end of August of that year; a summary of notable contributions by the city's main industries:

ALCAN - 623 employees volunteered for service. Returned by August, 1945: 27. (above - unloading 'pig' at Kingston mill, 1940's)

CANADIAN DREDGE & DOCK - Finished a floating derrick for the Canadian government, the last war order, in mid-August. Now building tugs and other vessels for company use. 330 employees, few of whom left due to priority of their war work. Will return to pre-war staffing of 70.

CANADIAN LOCOMOTIVE CO. - Enough work for a year. Four hundred employees served. Veterans returned: 5.

DAVIS TANNERY - War work is 80% of output. Veterans returned: 2.

FRONTENAC FLOOR & WALL TILE - Six-month backup of civilian orders. Of 170 employees, 30 are still serving.

HIELD BROTHERS - Enough work ahead for 2-3 years. 180 workers with 22 vacancies.

KINGSTON SHIPYARDS - One year of orders ahead. A few veterans returned. Women joined the workforce in 1943. (HMCS Frontenac built by the Shipyards, 1943 - top photo)

MACPHERSON - Working on sub-contracts for other manufacturers. Three of 30 workers are veterans.

MONARCH BATTERY - Main war work was batteries for army signal units, especially one large battery made nowhere else in Canada. Employees: 100, veterans will be re-employed.

NYLON PLANT - Busy with war orders for Britain until end of 1945. Employees serving: 70.

Victory truck-floats, 1945. Davis Tannery (above) and Hield Bros. (below - both photos posted to Vintage Kingston FB group

In addition to their labour and service, local plant employees also donated to nine Victory Loan programs throughout the war through their workplaces. A June, 1945 message from the Hield Brothers woolen mill (below - all photos from Vintage Kingston Facebook group) welcoming veterans back to the company workforce:

Adding Licence Plates

There are certain lines-in-the-sand in model railroading that, once crossed, signify a level of uber-detail or perhaps hyper-realism. It's like crossing the Rubicon, at least to me, and tonight I got my feet wet. Two of these lines are re-weigh stencilling on freight cars, and licence plates on vehicles. Both are tiny little details that someone squinting along at layout level (or using a camera at layout level) can use to separate fact from fiction, prototype from model.

To get plates, a Google search for Ontario licence plates quickly yielded a variety of styles and eras in HO scale. Bearing in mind that I'm modelling nominally 1970, I can have some older plates, but no newer. I printed off several sets, then cut them out with sharp suture scissors. 

Then it's just a matter of a little glue and a small fleet of trucks to start with, about a dozen tonight Another challenge is trying to find matching pairs for front-and-back, but then, who is going to notice if they're not? But they match, so don't bother looking! Another detail that I've unsuccessfully tried to add is side mirrors for trucks. Since I like to reposition vehicles, people and other parts of scenes, every time they're handled, it's possible that details, paint and decals will come off. So enjoy looking at the licence plates on the layout, just don't ask about the mirrors!

I'll work away at it, this bit of artistic licence I've taken. I don't think every vehicle will get the treatment, but those that do will certainly make scenes and photos more prototypical!

Inner Harbour Smelters - History

There were two major smelting operations east of Orchard Street along Kingston's Inner Harbour. Clustered together with the Davis Tannery and Woolen Mill, the smelters took advantage of nearby railway sidings and the nearby waterfront - taking in water for plant operations and discharging waste into the harbour. Local sources of ore made smelters attractive, but with the advent of other ore sources and improved rail transportation, the smelters lasted only a few decades at best.

SPECULATIVE SCHEMES

Just as there were land speculators, railway speculators and just plain hucksters, there were smelter speculators at the turn of the century! The Meyer Brothers, (their principal Leopold Meyer), Messrs. Terrill and Phelps from Chicago proposed an iron smelter and rollers in 1900-01. A major delay was securing the Cataraqui Mining and Developing Co. Their plan included construction in 1901 and operation by October of that year. Meyer even promised to run in a siding and dump some ore as a sign of good faith! The scheme included a dredged 14-foot harbour and a $300,000 plant. Limestone needed for fluxing was right at their door here in Kingston, and coke from Oswego would be not far away! But there was a certain amount of mild intimidation in their dealings, threatening to take the smelter to Hamilton. In the end, Phelps and Terrill declined to complete the agreement with the city, deciding instead to site their smelter in the United States. One could speculate that the Meyer plan was mainly about obtaining a contract with the city that could be exploited later.

In March, 1907 Mr. May of Toronto was proposing a cobalt smelter be located in Kingston. With cheap coal available at Sodus and Oswego, NY the cobalt being mined in Canada could be smelted here, instead of being shipped outside of Canada for refinement. Within a day, a zinc smelter was being proposed by Guelph interests. By July of 1907, Messrs. Grey and Hadley were now getting stock and promoting their zinc smelter. Their company had capital of $500,000 and organized a meeting of directors at the Wellington Hotel at which N.L. Stewart of the Guelph Stove Co. was elected president. The takeover of zinc mines near Kingston was part of their plan that did not come to fruition.

THE FIRST 20th CENTURY SMELTER: NORTH AMERICAN

Whig photo of the North American Smelting Company, 1913

At the north end of Orchard Street, on water lots 7, 8, 9 and 10 along the Cataraqui River, an early lead smelter here in 1879 had intended to smelt lead mined near Loughborough Lake and Indian Lake. The land and the lead mine came from the Gunn, Machar and Romanes estates. Operated first by an English company, a succession of owners at the site into the 20th century: Frontenac Lead Mining and Smelting, Stanley Smelting Works, Canadian Lead Mining and Smelting. The amount of ore mined was not enough, and the markets were poor. The smelter had a somewhat unsatisfactory period of operation, and the property eventually reverted to city ownership. 

As part of a 1907 city by-law, Stanley Smelting of New York was given a tax exemption, if they would employ 50 men with weekly wages of $750, their buildings valued at $40,000 and the city laying a rail siding along Orchard Street to the site with its tall chimney. The old smelting furnaces and buildings would be pulled down, and smoke would once again pour from that same chimney.

As of July, 1907 only one carload of plant machinery from Bannockburn had arrived by rail in Kingston. By December, Mr. W.M. Weigel was in Kingston to supervise the erection of the lead smelter under General Manager Robert Cushman, doing business from an office built on the smelter site. Weigel had previously supervised the National smelter in St. Louis, MO. Their plan was to have the smelter in operation by June 1, 1908.

In December, 1909 Canadian Lead Mining and Smelting applied to purchase the city's smelter site at the eastern end of the harbour. Perhaps the 11 acres of the site was too large for just one company, but it represented the last water lot avaiable in the city for manufacturing purposes.

In May of 1910, now-President Cushman threatened to take the now-named North American Smelting elsewhere - perhaps to Deseronto, accusing the city of dilly-dallying! The city was hedging on construction of the railway siding to serve the smelter. Deseronto reportedly offered a free site, tax exemption and rail access. A payment of $2,700 was made by North American to the city in February, 1911. Construction of the smelter was planned for July, 1911 at a cost of $36,000

At a board of directors' meeting in early January, 1912 a rush was put on installing the furnaces and power plant at the smelter. The contract to build the smelter buildings was completed by J.W. Litton. North American entered into contracts for ore and to buy by-products from manufacturing plants: white lead tailings, old lead scrap and tea scrap. In March of that year, miners' salaries of $2.50-3.00 per day were advertised, though only experienced drill runners and shaft men were invited to apply at the Perth Road mine directly. The company vacated their present office on Wellington Street in March, and it was then occupied by the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) agent, M.C. Dunn.

In March, 1912 the company asked the city for gas supply, recognizing that the distance was 1,600 feet from existing lines with no customers en route foreseen! Finally in September, 1912 the North American smelter opened for business. Delays were due to the city not supplying electricity nor the railway siding! Without the siding, mined ore had to be carted from the railhead to the smelter. That month, a directors' meeting heard that an 18-foot vein of lead with a streak three feet wide had been discovered, with 100 miners working at the Perth Road mine. A railway siding there had been held up by a protest, but eventually was laid. The first week of operation saw $2,000 worth of mined ore handled at the smelter. 

Perhaps indicative of the smelter's success, Mr. Cookson of the Cookson Lead Refining Company of Newcastle, England approached Mr. Cushman with an offer to buy. The Cookson company controlled the  lead market there.

Pig metal was being made from scrap, pending the construction of a concentrator adjacent to the CNoR line near the mine. Calcite, from which the ore was extracted, was at first a waste products, but was soon in demand and being shipped to Montreal to produce carbide. Lead mined was washed and rolled, changing it from 6% lead to 70% lead before being sent to Kingston was a marketable product, worth $110 per ton. Planned production with the concentrator built would be 400 tons of ore per day. (The final shipment of machinery for construction of the concentrator did not arrive until September, 1913.)

In October, 1912 the 2,000-foot smelter siding was completed from the Kingston & Pembroke (K&P) line near Cataraqui Street. After three weeks' operation, $37,000 of pig lead was produced, sold and shipped, including one carload going to the locomotive works on Ontario Street. By November, production was at 20 tons per day. The old stack was a monument of failure but now had 600 feet of brick flues for treatment of fumes from the furnace, and the smelter was occupying seven acres of land. It was hoped that with a dredged harbour access, the smelter could take advantage of cheaper transportation by shipping. With recent additions, the smelter's buildings were now valued at $100,000. Raw ore was dumped from cars into a concrete bin facing the two Scotch-hearth furnaces. Similar bins were used to hold raw ore, coal coke, and iron ore used for flux. Finished bars weighed 100 pounds.

 November, a sinkhole near the Perth Road mine delayed CNoR siding construction there. The company thought of building a road around the sinkhole in order to get more ore to the smelter. No ore would reach the smelter in 1912. By May, 1913 smelting was ongoing but the siding was not complete at the mine. Until the siding was available, large quantities of ore were accumulating at the site. In the mean time, ore from British Columbia, Quebec and the United States were brought to the smelter instead. Power supply to the smelter by the city was erratic at times.

At a directors' meeting in June, 1913 the capital of the smelter operation was raised from $500,000 to $1 million. Interestingly, at an October, 1913 railway commissioners' meeting in Vancouver, the subject of Kingston's smelter was a main topic of discussion. North American asked for a reduction in Canadian Pacific (CP, now the owner of the K&P) freight rates for lead ores and silver ores being sent from British Columbia, for pig lead being sent by CP to Montreal, Toronto and other eastern points. The smelter company believed that the high rates were set in favour of the smelter at Trail, BC that was practically owned by CP.

In October, 1915 the smelter and mine passed into the hands of New York parties, having been in the hands of a note-holders' protective committee. In November the smelter was being repaired and incorporated as the Kingston Smelting Co., on a lease basis with option to purchase. The CP siding was laid to Kingston Smelting by June, 1917. Twenty-five men were working on repairs, with 50-60 required for operation. Capacity was expected to be 20 tons of lead per day from concentrates by December, and no new equipment needed. Concentrates were coming from British Columbia and Illinois at the time. The smelter was treating this ore in April, 1917. However, by 1922, the smelter site was only being used for storage by the adjacent Davis Tannery.

Two images showing the tall smokestack and smelting buildings located to the east of the Davis Tannery site.

Remnants of the North American smelter buildings at centre right of this 1949 aerial photo (above - Queen's University Archives).

THE SECOND 20th CENTURY SMELTER: BUFFALO-ONTARIO

Whig photo of the Buffalo-Ontario Smelting Company, 1913

A zinc smelter was proposed in May, 1907, to be located on the upper portion of the city's old smelter site. Machinery was to come from Germany, steel shafts would be used instead of the brick tannery chimney already on the site. The promoters had their choice of both smelter sites, but chose the one near the Woolen Mill. As part of the city's 1907 smelter by-law, a zinc smelter on water lots 5 and 6 (some accounts say 2, 4 and 5) at Cataraqui and Orchard Streets had buildings valued at $100,000 and, like the lead smelter, promised to employ 50 men. Cojtruction was to be of concrete, with a main building measuring 300x60 feet. Rented for $280 per month in 1912, If operating for two years, the land could be purchased for $3,000.

In February, 1912 A.M. Thompson of Buffalo, NY promoted the Buffalo-Ontario Smelting and Refining Co., having purchased the old Ford Tannery property (above, Whig image - 1896). The tannery was shown on a 1911 fire insurance map as "Tannery John McLeod, silent [19]'11" and had been ravaged by fire in 1896 and again in 1900. The main building was 132x50 feet, built of brick.

With several mining properties near Cobalt, Lindsay and Sharbot Lake, Thompson also considered Tweed and Lindsay as smelter sites. Cost of construction was estimated at $300,000, with 250-300 men working in the smelter within two years. Work began on existing buildings later in February, with masons repairing the buildings, and local firm McKelvey & Birch securing the contract to fix the furnaces on the site. Construction was to begin in early 1913.

Down on Market Street in March, the Buffalo-Ontario company took over offices formerly occupied by John McDonald Mowat. New smelter furnaces were installed in May, 1912. In April, 1913 a revised by-law included an additional cause regarding railway rights.

Buffalo-Ontario cancelled asked to cancel its lease in November, 1914. By October of 1914, the A. Davis Company was buying and removing office furnishings at the smelter site for their own use. The buildings are shown on a 1924 fire insurance map but no longer in operation, denoted "Old & Dil". The buildings are at the bottom-right of this harbour view also showing the Woolen Mill (below and top photo - 'Billy Bishop Air Services', 1920).

(Sources of information for this article: Whig clippings corroborated with John Duerkop's draft paper on tanneries and smelters in North Kingston.)