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| 16. THE FARMERS’ STOREHOUSE COMPANY |
| The Farmers’ Storehouse Company was set up in 1824 by the farmers of the Home District(1).
Its establishment was an economically defensive move by the farmers to
protect themselves from profit-seeking merchants and middlemen. Early York merchants were few but aggressive. They were unable to profit from the industries of York, such as breweries, tanneries or foundries, because they only produced enough for the community(2). Merchants had also been excluded from the sale of produce by the York market. However the surpluses of wheat and potash produced by farmers were ideal commodities for the merchants to export and profit from(3). Under the existing system the merchant would assume all the risk by purchasing the farmer’s crops in advance. The merchant would store the produce and arrange their transport to Montreal, then on to Europe(4). The Bank of Upper Canada [site 33] granted the merchants annual loans to purchase the crops, which allowed them to become economically essential to the development of export trade(5). The farmers formed a co-operative to fund their purchase of a property at the foot of New (now Jarvis) Street(6). The 100 foot long by 20 feet wide wooden building was a depot for goods going to Britain or the West Indies, and a centre for sales in York(7). Goods would be stored in the winter while the roads were passable, then transported by boat in the spring in order to obtain the best price. The jobs of merchants and farmers were further complicated by international import laws. For instance, the British Corn Laws which prevented the importation of cheaper colonial wheat(8). The efforts made by York farmers were socially and historically important, but economically negligible in comparison to the merchants. |
Notes
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| © Town of York Historical Society, 2006- All rights reserved. |