James Stewart
The James Stewart Man. Co. Ltd. moved to Woodstock from Hamilton in 1892, after taking over an earlier business started by James Stewart in 1845. The plant madecast iron and plated steel products that included stoves, ranges, hot-air furnaces, registers, parlour grates and soil pipes. The heating products were designed to burn all kinds of coal and wood: also sold by the company.
In 1897, the Stewart Company employed 3 travelling salesmen to cover Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and British Columbia. Local agents covered Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In 1901, the Woodstock plant occupied 4.5 acres. Its main building was 50 by 200 feet. Behind this were a foundry, pattern room and other buildings.
In earlier times, a manager or a travelling salesmen might be the one to come up with a new stove design. If approved, the idea would be given to a draftsman who made working drawings. These went to the pattern makers who carved a life-size model in pine. Once the wooden model was agreed by the managers, it was taken apart and sent to the foundry. There a full single set of iron castings was made, carefully filed and highly polished. This set became the pattern that had to last the lifetime of the new product design.
A skilled moulder made impressions from each of the iron patterns in a special moulding sand. The patterns were removed and molten iron carefully poured into the sand moulds. After cooling down, the cast pieces were put through a ‘tumbling mill’ to remove all dirt and sand particles, then taken to the grinders who smoothed and polished all the parts. Any necessary bolt and rivet holes were drilled; and plated iron parts plus any mica within viewing windows were added. Lastly, any required surface coat would now be applied to non-cooking surfaces.
Over time the market changed and cast iron heating and cooking products went out of favour. By1962, the James Stewart Manufacturing Company Ltd. had closed and its site was vacant. Thomas Built Buses of Canada occupied the site in 1964.
Sources:
- Sentinel-Review Inaugural Edition, July 1, 1901 (Oxford Historical Society archives)
- Vernon’s Woodstock City Directories, 1924-1962
- Sentinel-Review, unknown day, 1897 (Woodstock Museum archives)
In 1897, the Stewart Company employed 3 travelling salesmen to cover Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and British Columbia. Local agents covered Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In 1901, the Woodstock plant occupied 4.5 acres. Its main building was 50 by 200 feet. Behind this were a foundry, pattern room and other buildings.
In earlier times, a manager or a travelling salesmen might be the one to come up with a new stove design. If approved, the idea would be given to a draftsman who made working drawings. These went to the pattern makers who carved a life-size model in pine. Once the wooden model was agreed by the managers, it was taken apart and sent to the foundry. There a full single set of iron castings was made, carefully filed and highly polished. This set became the pattern that had to last the lifetime of the new product design.
A skilled moulder made impressions from each of the iron patterns in a special moulding sand. The patterns were removed and molten iron carefully poured into the sand moulds. After cooling down, the cast pieces were put through a ‘tumbling mill’ to remove all dirt and sand particles, then taken to the grinders who smoothed and polished all the parts. Any necessary bolt and rivet holes were drilled; and plated iron parts plus any mica within viewing windows were added. Lastly, any required surface coat would now be applied to non-cooking surfaces.
Over time the market changed and cast iron heating and cooking products went out of favour. By1962, the James Stewart Manufacturing Company Ltd. had closed and its site was vacant. Thomas Built Buses of Canada occupied the site in 1964.
Sources:
- Sentinel-Review Inaugural Edition, July 1, 1901 (Oxford Historical Society archives)
- Vernon’s Woodstock City Directories, 1924-1962
- Sentinel-Review, unknown day, 1897 (Woodstock Museum archives)