Businesses From the end of the 19th century, manufacturing has played an important role in Aylmer’s economy. The first canning factory was established in 1879. In 1897, everything from doors, to cider, to musical organs were being produced in the town. |
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Dominion Canners The Aylmer Canning Factory was established first in 1879 by a joint stock company of the businessmen of the town. According to early records, the company did not succeed very well and in 1883 was bought by T.M. Nairn, D. Marshall and G.L. Walker. Mr. Walker sold his interests to Nairn and Marshall in 1886, after which the industry grew in a few years to become the largest of its kind in Canada. The original plant of Fourth Avenue was known as Dominion Canners up to 1913. An immense factory was built on Myrtle Street in 1913. Canadian Canners rolled out its last cans in 1959 and the plant was used for storage purposes only until 1962 when the doors were locked for good. The building was demolished in 1969. |
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Title: Dominion Canners Limited Factory, Aylmer, 1913 - View from the Southwest Date: 1913 Part Of: Elgin County Vertical File Collection - Aylmer Express Industrial and Farming Number 1913 file ECVF B115 F1 P48 2 |
Title: 'Canadian Canners Ltd.' Date: Sept. 1949 Part Of: Elgin County Photograph Collection Caption: "Front row, seventh from right: Bill Lamont Second row, second from right: Morley Anderson Third row, eighth from right: Nelson Smith Second last row, fourth from right: Doug Appleyard Back row, second from right: Bill Learn" C3 Sh6 T1 P38 |
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Aylmer Condensed Milk Company / Carnation Milk The Aylmer Condensed Milk factory was established in Aylmer by David Marshall, M.P. and J.J. Nairn (owners of the Dominion Canners) sometime between 1905 and 1910. The plant was sold to the Carnation Company in 1916. In 1916, 75 people were employed. The employment figures reached a peak of 150 employees during the Second World War. |
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Title: Carnation Milk Plant, Aylmer Box 528, Envelope 95072. Copy Print #948 |
Title: 'Carnation Milk Company' Date: [196-] Part Of: Robert Moore Postcard Collection C6 Sh6 B3 F8 #32 |
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Lewis Pierce & Son Horse Livery The Aylmer Canning Factory was established first in 1879 by a joint stock company of the businessmen of the town. According to early records, the company did not succeed very well and in 1883 was bought by T.M. Nairn, D. Marshall and G.L. Walker. Mr. Walker sold his interests to Nairn and Marshall in 1886, after which the industry grew in a few years to become the largest of its kind in Canada. The original plant of Fourth Avenue was known as Dominion Canners up to 1913. An immense factory was built on Myrtle Street in 1913. Canadian Canners rolled out its last cans in 1959 and the plant was used for storage purposes only until 1962 when the doors were locked for good. The building was demolished in 1969. |
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Title: Lewis Pierce & Son Horse Livery, Aylmer |
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Imperial Leaf Tobacco Company It was announced on May 10, 1945 that Imperial Tobacco would build a tobacco processing plant in Aylmer. It was to be the largest of its kind in the British Empire. Aylmer was chosen as the ideal location for Imperial’s new plant because its location was central to the growing area of flue-cured tobacco, and offered access to highway and rail transportation. Construction of the buildings began in 1945 on a 36-acre parcel of land just north of Aylmer. The official opening occurred on October 2, 1946. The plant was used for the receiving, grading, re-drying, packing and storing of leaf tobacco. It was the first facility in the world capable of providing all the components and final blends of cut tobacco in one location. In 2007, the Imperial Leaf Tobacco Company in Aylmer was closed. Additional images of the Imperial Leaf Tobacco Company can be found on the following page of the Tobacco in Elgin County virtual exhibit: http://www.elgincounty.ca/ElginCounty/CulturalServices/Archives/tobacco/imperial.html |
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Title: Imperial Leaf Tobacco Company, Aylmer - Aerial View Date: 1957 Part Of: St. Thomas Times-Journal fonds - Imperial Leaf Tobacco Company, Aylmer file Caption: "Aylmer Tobacco Storage Plant Largest in Canada - With completion of the $450,000 No. 7 warehouse at Aylmer, Imperial Leaf Tobacco Company will have storage facilities for some 80,000,000 pounds of flue-cured tobacco grown in Southwestern Ontario..." C8 Sh3 B3 F13 1 |
Title: Imperial Leaf Tobacco Company, Aylmer - Plant Interior Date: 1963 Part Of: St. Thomas Times-Journal fonds - Imperial Leaf Tobacco Company, Aylmer file C8 Sh3 B3 F13 2 |
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Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board Sanctioned by the Government under the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Act, the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board (the Marketing Board) was established in 1957 to replace the troublesome Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Association. There were auction warehouses controlled by the Marketing Board, one each in Delhi, Tillsonburg and Aylmer. As the years progressed, there was a decline in the demand for Ontario grown tobacco. In 2009 the quota system was abolished due to a decrease in demand in locally produced tobacco. It was replaced by a licensing system in which a farmer could be a licensed grower if they could secure a contract with a buyer for a specific amount of tobacco. The Marketing Board is now in charge of issuing the licenses and ensuring that the rules of the new licensing system are being followed. Additional images of the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board can be found on the following page of the Tobacco in Elgin County virtual exhibit: http://www.elgincounty.ca/ElginCounty/CulturalServices/Archives/tobacco/marketingboard.html | |||
Title: Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board - Aylmer Exchange Building Complete Date: 1957 Part Of: St. Thomas Times-Journal fonds - Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board file Caption: Impressive Structure- The $300,000 Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board auction exchanges at Aylmer, Delhi and Tillsonburg are imposing structures, as they may be seen in the picture above of the Aylmer exchange. General contractors for the work were Astra Steel Structures Ltd., of Hamilton. All three buildings are exactly alike." C8 Sh2 B2 F4 4a |
Title: Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board - Busy Day For Buyers |
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Title: Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board - Tobacco Auction Opens Date: 1966 Part Of: St. Thomas Times-Journal fonds - Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board file Caption: "Tobacco Auction Opens- This was the scene in the Aylmer auction exchange of the Imperial Leaf Tobacco Company today as the first shipment of the 1966 tobacco crop was received for marketing. Joe Kiss (right), a buyer for the Simcoe Leaf Company, is comparing the crop shipped by Terry Hudson of Springfield." C8 Sh2 B2 F4 11 |
Title: Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board - Revolutionary Machine Invented Date: 1968 Part Of: St. Thomas Times-Journal fonds - Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board file Caption: "Revolutionary Machine- This revolutionary one-man tobacco harvesting machine, the invention of John Balthes of RR 2, Port Burwell, may spell the end for human tobacco primers in the flue-cured tobacco harvest. Scores of growers were on hand for the machine's first public demonstration held at the federal department of agriculture's Delhi tobacco research station. One-man priming machines and bulk curing are expected to reduce the harvest load on farms to three men from 10." C8 Sh2 B2 F4 34a |
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Aylmer Dairy The Aylmer Dairy was located at 420 Talbot Street East. Construction on the factory was completed in 1969. |
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Title: Aylmer Dairy - Cottage Cheese Date: 1979 Part Of: St. Thomas Times-Journal fonds St. Thomas Times-Journal fonds - Aylmer Dairy file Caption: "The Dairy Cottage Cheese Built - Aylmer Dairy Ltd's cottage cheese is sold throughout southern Ontario and in the western part of Quebec. Approximately 275 million pounds of the stuff were produced at the dairy during 1979." C9 Sh3 B3 F51 5 |
Title: Aylmer Dairy - Filling Tubs Date: 1979 Part Of: St. Thomas Times-Journal fonds - Aylmer Dairy file Caption: "Filling Tubs - Sour Cream is one of the Beatrice dairy products made at the Aylmer Dairy. Here, Debbie Phillips and Lynn Davies (left) pack the full tubs of sour cream coming from a machine that fills the tubs." C9 Sh3 B3 F51 7 |