Smelting Works at Huckleberry Point

1895 – Smelting Works

        “The full force of men was hard at work on the smelting works all day yesterday completing preparations for the ‘blowing in’ this afternoon. Fires were lighted in the furnace to dry out the brick work, and the smoke drifting from the top of the big smoke stack made the place look like business. Hundreds of citizens managed to make their way through the deep mud from the Sherman avenue trolley terminus to inspect the works, and they swarmed all over the place during the day.”

                  “Ready for the Opening : Hamilton’s Great Iron Industry Begins Operations : The Workmen Employed All Yesterday Finally Completing the Preparations – A Special Train Carried the Visitors to the Works This Afternoon”

                                                                             Spectator. December 30, 1895

          To attract the steel industry to Hamilton, the City Council had offered long-term tax exemptions, a free site of 75 acres and a bonus of $400,000 if a $400,000 open hearth and a $400,000 blast furnace were built and running by January 1, 1896.

          The offer was taken up by a group of investors and the site chosen for the smelting works was a piece of land jutting into the Hamilton Harbor, known as Huckleberry Point.

          For many years, Huckleberry Point had been known locally for its woods of oak and walnut. In the early years of Hamilton’s development, the area had been shunned by settlers because of fear of lake fever or other diseases believed to have been present in the marshy areas by the point. Still, Huckleberry had been a favourite destination for couples boating on the bay, while in the fall, duck hunters were frequent visitors to the area.

          With the deadline fast approaching, about 500 representative citizens were invited to the site of the smelting works to inspect the buildings and witness the ceremonial lighting of the furnaces.

          Covering several acres, the buildings on the site were huge brick structures with substantial stone foundations. The cost of construction was estimated at well over $800,000. Even before the furnaces were ceremonially fired, plans were underway to enlarge the operation. Wharves were to be built on the bay front to facilitate the shipment of coal to the works by water.

          To convey the company’s guests to the ceremony inaugurating the works, the Hamilton Iron and Steel Company hired a special train which left the King street depot at 2 p.m., December 30, 1895 :

          “The train pulled into the siding at the smelting works about 2:30, and the first thing that impressed the visitors was the network of railway switches, on which were train loads of reddish iron ore and coal.

          “A British flag floated from the top of the works, and as the visitors came off the train, the workmen gave them a cheer, and a salute performed by pounding heavily on the reverberating iron work high in the air.”

                “An Era of Prosperity : Inaugurated By the Opening of the Smelting Works : A Representative Gathering of Businessmen and Manufacturers Attend the Lighting of the Furnace – Speeches at the Banquet”

                                                                                            Spectator. December 31,1895.

          Shortly after the arrival of the guests, the president of the company, John H. Tilden led them to the furnace at the north end of the cast house and there delivered a brief address in which he said, in part, “Iron has been made by primitive methods in Canada before, but this is the first properly equipped blast furnace that has been put in operation. As you will see, the plant is first-class in every respect, equal to the best furnaces in the United States, and we will have a daily capacity of 150 to 200 tons of pig iron manufactured from Canadian ore.”

          President Tilden’s wife was given the honour of lighting the blast furnace :

          “A piece of tow soaked in inflammable material and placed on the end of a rod was ignited and handed to the lady, who deftly inserted it into the furnace. The crowd cheered heartily, and in about a minute the crackle of the flames inside the big shaft indicated that the fire was alight all right. It will burn for some time to dry out the brick work before ore is inserted.”

          The gathering then was led into the engine house which contained two 1200 horsepower engines. There, Vice-President John Milne told the assembled that the two engines were probably the largest of the day in Canada. He also noted that the furnace which Mrs. Tilden lit would not be allowed to go out for at least two and a half years. The new smelting works, Vice-President Tilden boasted, were “second to none in America, and the first to be erected in Ontario or Quebec.”

          Mr. A. T. Wood was then asked to speak a few words to those gathered in the engine house. He confessed that, at first, he had been opposed to the granting of a bonus to the smelting works, thinking that Hamilton was too far removed from the source of raw material necessary for the manufacture of iron and steel. However, after familiarizing himself with the methods of production, he concluded that Hamilton would be an ideal location, being equidistant from supplies of coal and ore, limestone being available locally.

          “I was brave enough to confess the error that I had laboured under b taking an interest in the company’s output of iron would be of the finest quality, Wood concluded.

          At this point, Mr. Tilden jerked a lever on the engine. After a brief delay while the machinery got “on the centre,” the immense fly wheel began to revolve. Once again, the crowd burst into cheers. After a further half hour spent touring the site, the party reassembled on the trip for the return trip to the city.

          That evening, a banquet was held at Newport’s (217-219 King Street East) where, according to the Spectator, “all classes, professions, and trades were represented, and the speeches were unusually eloquent, interesting and optimistic and patriotic….the hall and tables were prettily decorated and Anderson’s orchestra filled the air with music.”

          President John H. Tilden of the smelting works was chosen chairman of the gathering. Before he announced the toast list, Tilden said that the projectors of the smelting works hoped that the industry would not only benefit the city, but would attract other city industries.

          The first toast, proposed by the chairman, was to the Queen : “ Long Live Victoria the Good.”

          After the toast to Canada, Mr. James Jardine sang the Maple Leaf. Mr. Clarke Wallace, in responding to the toast, made an appropriate speech which was warmly received. Mr. Wallace began by praising the enterprise of Hamiltonians :

           “There are furnaces in Nova Scotia, but this part of the Dominion is not able to take advantage of the furnaces there. The chief characteristics of  this city are its ambition and enterprise, and throughout the province it is recognized that Hamilton has men of enterprise, the evidence of which is the blowing in of the blast furnace.”

          Mr. Wallace attacked the notion that Canada could be easily annexed by the United States :

          “Recently the Americans have been threatening to take Canada in case of war, but if war ever comes, they will find every class of Canadian shoulder to shoulder in defense of their country. The men of the northern zone as the poet Kernighan has written, have never been conquered yet by a Southern neighbour, and, please God, they never will”

“A Great Day in the History of Hamilton : Blowing In of the Blast Furnace Witnessed By a Large Party of Interested Citizens and Visitors – Banquet at Newport’s in the Evening – Many Congratulatory Addresses”

Herald. December 31, 1895.

          Mr. Alex. McKay, local member of Parliament, also responded to the toast to Canada:

           “He was sure such an intelligent gathering would be prepared to give full credit for the establishment of this industry to the protectionist policy by which the industries have been fostered. (Laughter and applause.) Many other industries of a similar character must necessarily follow in its train, and make this the iron manufacturing centre of the Dominion.” (HERALD)

          The Honourable John M. Gibson, local member of the provincial Parliament, took the opportunity to claim credit for the policies of Premier Oliver Mowat which boosted the location of a smelting works in Hamilton:

          “The provincial government had always done its best to encourage the development of the natural resources of the country by building roads and aiding in the construction of railways, but until it undertook to encourage the bringing out of ore from the mines, and the smelting of it here in Hamilton, the Dominion government’s efforts had been unsuccessful in securing the erection of smelting works. (Laughter.)

(HERALD)

          M.P.P. Gibson congratulated John Patterson for writing up the smelting works proposal long before the present company was formed. Messrs. Tilden and Milne of the Hamilton Iron and Steel Company were also congratulated by Gibson for the success of their labours.

          Nicholas Avery, another local federal member of Parliament, made a brief, but enthusiastically received address in which he said :

          “If invaders ever crossed our frontier, they will find half a million Canadians ready to sacrifice their lives and liberties in support of our British constitution. The work of conquering a free people will not be accomplished before breakfast, as some people seem to think; in fact, I believe it could not be accomplished by eventide!”

          Hamilton lawyer George Lynch-Staunton also responded to the toast to Canada and began by jokingly saying that he was pleased that an old-time free trader like John Gibson had been converted to the cause of protectionism. The speaker though that a greater danger to Canada was its internal dissension, not the external threat of American annexation :

           “He hoped the day would never come when Ontario would be called a Protestant province and Quebec a Catholic province. All should be united, shoulder to shoulder as Canadians. (Cheers.)”

          After the toast to “Our Soldiers – Blessed Are the Peacemakers,” John M. Gibson responded, saying that if it came to war, Canada would be ready:

          “The militia of Canada in educating Canadians in the use of rifles and in military matters is ready, and would be willing in consequence to spring to arms and defend the country. Exterminated we may be, thundered Col. Gibson, but conquered, never!” (HERALD)

          Just before the toast to Hamilton, the Ambitious City was to be responded to, mayoral candidate George E. Tuckett entered Newport’s and was given a rousing cheer by the crowd.

          Mayor A. D. Stewart, upstaged for a moment by his political rival, then proceeded to deliver his address:

           “The thirtieth of December, 1895, marked a new era of prosperity in the history of Hamilton in the opening of a new railway and the inauguration of the new smelting works. (Applause.) Regardless of the opinion of pessimists to the contrary, and in spite of the period of depression that as recently been experienced throughout the civilized world, the financial position of Hamilton was never so satisfactory as it is today. He was glad to see the expectations in connection wit this new industry so amply realized tonight.” (SPECTATOR)

          Alderman Frederick William Watkins also responded to the toast to the city of Hamilton :

           “He thought everyone had reason to be proud of Hamilton. When his father died, he didn’t leave much but a good name, and he was trying to follow his footsteps. He had traveled in every European country, but never felt so proud as when he returned to Ontario and to Hamilton. When it was proposed to give a bonus to the smelting works, he was opposed to it, but the scene has changed, and owing to the men connected with the smelting works now, he thought everyone had confidence in it, and he wished every prosperity to the works.(HERALD)

          Henry Carscallen, Q. C., was the third speaker to respond to the toast to the Ambitious City.

 “Cass” as he was familiarly known, said that it was a proud day for him:

          “While he and his associates had not laid the foundation for the works, they had laid the structure upon which the financial gentlemen had laid the superstructure. He spoke of Rev. Dr. Burns and himself being the only men in the city who at one time would get on a public platform to agitate the smelting works bylaw. He incidentally remarked that another thing he was proud of was the T. H. & B. which he had fought for, had not died for, but would have done so had it been necessary.” (HERALD)

To the toast, “Iron, Canada’s Hope,” Robert McKechnie of Dundas responded by extensively quoting figures to show that prosperity lay before the Hamilton smelting works.

          There was a slight mix up in the proceedings when John Milne asked Editor Alexander Fraser Pirie of the Dundas Banner to also respond to the toast to Iron. Mr. Pirie confessed that “the iron had not entered his soul as he had expected to respond to the toast to the ladies:

“He made a speech equally dividing his attention to the ladies and the Old Flag, which alternately convulsed his hearers with laughter and caused them to whoop with patriotic enthuse.”

On the day that the smelting works were officially put into operation, a lengthy editorial appeared in the Spectator which tried to assess the impact the event:

“Today marks the beginning of a new era in the history and prosperity of the Ambitious City, unless we are very mistaken. Today, the fires were lighted in the furnaces of the Hamilton Iron and Steel company, and the concern is now one of the active manufactories of the city.

“This will give Hamilton a great advantage as a location for all manufactories in which steel and iron are used, and with the magnificent system of railway connection, which we will have in a few months, this city will afford conditions which no manufacturer can afford to overlook. We expect that great things for Hamilton will result from the striking of a match down by the bay side today.”

                                                                                               “The Blowing In”

                                                                             Spectator. December 30, 1895