Editor’s note: The following article was originally published on Linda Seccaspina’s website and is being shared here in its original, unedited form. A link to the original article can be found at the end of this story.
There are towns that grow quietly, putting up a house here, a factory there, and generally behaving themselves. Then there was Smith’s Falls. By the time 1898 was drawing to a close, Smith’s Falls had apparently decided that modesty was overrated. The town had spent more than $80,000 on new buildings during the previous year, welcomed 44 new houses, and watched its population march confidently pass the 5,000 mark. In other words, Smith’s Falls was growing—and it had no intention of whispering about it.
A newspaper article proudly described the community as “essentially a manufacturing and railway town,” and judging from the list of industries, there was little danger of anyone getting bored. There was Frost & Wood, makers of agricultural implements and the Malleable Iron Works. There were flour mills, planning mills, sash and door factories, wholesale houses, chemical works and, naturally, enough railway activity to ensure that somebody was always arriving, departing, loading, unloading, or wondering why the train was late. Smith’s Falls had become the sort of place where prosperity was not merely discussed over coffee—it was clanging away in a factory somewhere.
The newspaper was particularly enthusiastic about the Frost & Wood works, noting that the company employed hundreds of men and had expanded its operations. Agricultural machinery was clearly serious business and this was not a town making decorative garden ornaments. These were machines designed to make farms work harder, faster and, presumably, with considerably less complaining.
The Malleable Iron Works was also thriving, employing a large number of workers and turning out products that helped keep industry moving. The demand for skilled labour was strong, and the article cheerfully observed that mechanics and labourers had earned more wages than in previous years.That was excellent news for the workers. It was probably less excellent news for anyone trying to hire them cheaply.
The town’s agricultural-implement industry had become so important that the newspaper suggested its success was contributing greatly to the prosperity of Smith’s Falls. New machinery was being manufactured, new orders were arriving and business was moving briskly. And then there were the flour mills. Two large flour mills were running at full capacity, which meant that somewhere in Smith’s Falls a tremendous quantity of wheat was being transformed into the raw material of sandwiches, toast and the occasional argument over who got the last slice of bread.
The sash and door factories and planning mills were also busy. The town was building houses, and houses require doors. Forty-four new houses in one year is not exactly a minor renovation project. It suggests hammers were ringing, saws were whining and carpenters were wondering whether they might eventually get a Sunday off. The article made a particularly interesting comparison with earlier years. During previous difficult periods, some manufacturing establishments had closed for three months or more, but in 1898, they worked straight through. No extended shutdowns, no dramatic pauses, and the workers, according to the newspaper, earned more money accordingly. It was the kind of prosperity that could make a town feel positively invincible.
The article also looked ahead to 1899 with optimism, declaring that 1898 had been the best year in the town’s history and suggesting that the new year promised to be even better. History, of course, has a wicked sense of humour about predictions. But in that particular moment, Smith’s Falls had every reason to be confident. The town had surpassed 5,000 people, new homes were appearing and factories were humming. Railways were busy. Businesses were expanding and employers needed workers, workers wanted wages, and merchants were preparing for more customers.
Even the streets must have seemed busier. A growing population meant more boots on sidewalks, more wagons in the streets, more children underfoot and more people discovering that a peaceful little town had suddenly become rather energetic. Smith’s Falls was no longer merely a place people passed through on the railway. It was becoming a place where people stayed, and presumably, they complained about taxes just as people do in every prosperous century. The newspaper’s enthusiasm was unmistakable thatSmith’s Falls was experiencing an industrial boom, and everyone seemed determined to enjoy it while it lasted.
“Things are going rather well. Carry on.”
For Smith’s Falls in 1898, growth was not something happening somewhere else. It was happening right outside the front door. Judging by the noise coming from the factories, the trains and the construction sites, nobody had much time to sit down and admire it.
SOURCE: Linda Seccaspina – Smiths Falls 1898 Population- 5,000.
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