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1. FREELAND’S SOAP AND CANDLE FACTORY |
| The
York industries of lather and light had their origins in Peter Freeland
(d.1861), a Glasgow-born Scot who crossed the Atlantic in 1819(1).
After first starting a soap and candle factory with his brother William
in Montreal, Peter then came to York in 1832 to found his own company(2). He purchased a water lot at the foot of Yonge Street from Judge Levius P. Sherwood, and Peter MacDougall(3).
This resulted in his dynamic entrance onto the commercial scene of
York, and the establishment of what was for some time a major landmark
along the waterfront. As most of the property was submerged, the rear warehouses of Freeland’s Soap and Candle Factory were supported by large piers. The high water level allowed schooners carrying goods to dock and unload directly. Iron soap-kettles were brought from Scotland(4). Candle moulds were imported from America(5). Most other equipment was manufactured within the community. The factory consisted of a series of sheds, as seen in the above picture, which stored ingredients such as tallow, palm oil, wood ashes, lime and ice(6). Inside, the workmen would hand-cut and shape the candles and bars of soap. However during the 1837 Rebellion, labour shortages forced Freeland to pour his soap directly into crates, forming large blocks(7). Also at that time, after work hours, men would mould bullets by the fire(8). Due to Freeland’s careful methods, what could have been a fire hazard remained a safe and viable industry for many years. Some time later, in the footsteps of his father, Robert Freeland invented soap making machinery(9). |
| Notes 1 John R. Robertson, Landmarks of Toronto, Vol. I (Toronto: J.R. Robertson, 1894), p.186. 2 Edith G. Firth, The Town of York 1815-1834, Ontario Series Vol. VIII (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1966), p.70. 3 Robertson, I, p.182. 4 Lucy B. Martyn, Original Toronto, (Sutton West: Paget Press, 1983), p.67. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Robertson, I, p.183. 8 Ibid. 9 Martyn, Original Toronto, p.67. |
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