In 1888 Alan S. Ault took over a company founded by William T. McCullough, forming the company Alan S. Ault & Co. Suppliers of fuel such as coal and wood, merchants such as Ault were vital to the development of industry in Brockville, as they provided the fuel that powered foundries, factories, and plants.
Ault's coal company was located at the south-west corner of Water St East and Bethune St, east of the current location of the Brockville Rowing Club. This location was ideal as it allowed for the easy unloading of coal from ships on the St Lawrence, while also providing easy land transport to the many industrial sites along the waterfront. As can be seen in the photos above, Ault's enjoyed both road and rail transport links.
The company dealt in the sale of anthracite and wood but its biggest seller was bituminous coal which they supplied to the Brockville Hat Works, the Ontario Asylum, and the Canada Carriage Company.
Ault later entered into a partnership with Walter B. Reynolds, forming the Ault & Reynolds company. It later became the W. B. Reynolds Coal Co. Ltd.
Like the Central Canada Coal Company, the Ault/Reynolds Coal depot underwent a number of changes in the way that it processed its coal. At first unloading barges using a bucket powered by a horse an pulley, they gradually introduced increased levels of mechanization. While this accelerated the process of unloading coal, it also damaged the coal. Because of this they turned to importing coal by rail via the Brockville Tunnel. In an atmosphere of sharply declining demand for coal, the closure of the tunnel was the final straw for the coal trade and as of 1974, W.B. Reynolds ceased sales of coal.
