1920s

D.H. Burrell & Co. was established in 1885, in Little Falls N.Y. In 1904, a branch plant was opened in Brockville. The premise was a 40’ x 125’ two storey building used for manufacturing.

The Brockville plant was under the management of G. Sommerville and employed twelve mechanics. The most important item produced was the “Simplex” Link-blade Cream Separator. The plant manufactured 18 different sizes and styles of cream separators, which included hand, electric, steam turbine and belt drive. The Burrell Lawrence Kennedy(BLK) cow milker was also made in Brockville. The machine milked two cows at the same time saving the farmer time and money.

The company was sold through the Derbyshire supply house in the early 1900s.

The St. Lawrence Engine Company was founded by H.W. Going and was located at St. Andrew’s Street. Going worked with his brother-in-law Charles T. Wilkinson as a partner and chief engineer. Charles was a graduate of McGill and eventually left for the Canadian Coal Company. The company specialized in 2 cycle engines.

The company wanted to build “a single cylinder engine as good as or better than any that existed.” The company forged their own crankshafts but many later on were cut and milled from a piece of square steel stock. In 1913, the company came out with a remote starter. The site was not only used for building 2 cycle engines but the facility provided gas, oil and repairs as well as winter storage.

In the 1920s, Going and the St. Lawrence Engine Co. became the first Canadian marine engine company to adapt the ‘model T’ engine and work closely with Ford Motors. In 1936, the company was the first North American firm to convert V-8 engines to marine use. A family member remembers Going meeting with Henry Ford in Brockville. The engines were sold around the world; USA, Africa, Egypt and Mexico as well as domestically.

The company was located at 10 St. Andrew Street adjacent to the Marina which is still active. In 1948, the company ceased engine production and focused on general engineering and specializing in marine mechanics. The site is now the St. Lawrence Marina.

The company was sold in 1947 and changed hands until the 1980s.

For more information concerning the St. Lawrence Engine Co. Ltd. please visit www.stlawrenceengines.ca.

The Whyte Packaging Co. was established in 1904, and incorporated in 1917. The company was located on Georgina Street. J.A. Laing managed the company.

The original plant was a 150’x150’ (approx. 45 x 45 meters) three-storey building with a cold storage area in the basement. A brochure from the 1920s advertises the facilities highlighting the basement as a place where, “Produce and merchandise of any kind maybe stored here for an indefinite period.”

The company was a wholesale dealer and exporter of cheese, butter, eggs, meat, milk and cream. Many merchants with limited storage facilities took advantage of the storage depot.

The Company received large consignments of the products in which they dealt from the local farmers. Their trade extended throughout Canada as well as to markets in Great Britain. The Whyte Packaging Co., closed in 1937, and was bought by G. Phillips, who owned the plant until 1945. After 1945, the plant was known as the Brockville Co-Op until the closure in the 1980s.

The Brockville Railway tunnel is the oldest railway tunnel in Canada. The tunnel runs 518 m (approx. 1700 ft), under City Hall (below Market St). The tunnel was built by the Brockville & Ottawa (B&O) Company in the 1850s. The cornerstone of the tunnel was laid on September 16, 1854. In 1855, the company constructing the tunnel experienced financial difficulties and could not continue the job without aid from the municipality, which was not granted until the following year. The tunnel was first used on December 31st, 1860, and was closed in the 1970s.

The massive oak doors are still in place. The doors were used to maintain a constant temperature in the tunnel and to prevent cattle from wandering into the tunnel.

The Comstock Brothers Medicine Company was an established American company working out of New York City before they set up a branch operation in Brockville. The company shipped thousands of boxes of pills and bottles of their medicine around the world, the most famous being Dr. Morse’s Indian Root Pills.

Edwin Comstock founded the company sometime in or before 1833 with his brother Lucius. After Edwin’s death in 1837 the company underwent many changes and partnerships. Much of the history of the company is found via lawsuits and court documents as it changed hands within the family many times. Lucius continued the company with another brother, which ultimately ended in 1841, from 1841-46 Lucius worked with his mother-in-law. Edwin’s son William Henry Comstock joined the partnership that subsequently opened the office in Brockville and Morristown.

In 1864, William H. Comstock bought Dr. Howard Medicine Company of Brockville. The company shifted its operations from New York City to Brockville and built the Comstock Building on Court House Avenue to house the firm. In 1867, Comstock expanded to Morristown, New York and the New York City operations ceased.

The company employed both men and women. Through the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s the average wage for women was $3 to $5 while men made $ 7 to $12. Comstock went on well into the 20th century. After 1959 Comstock declined and in 1960 the company was liquidated and patents sold off. The Comstock building was demolished in 1966.

More information of the Comstock business may be found in the book written by Robert Shaw,History of the Comstock Patent Medicine Business and of Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills,
Smithsonian studies in history and technology, no.22, 1972.