William Davies Company
Encyclopedia
William Davies Company was a pork processing and packing company
in Toronto
, Canada
. At one time, it was the largest pork packer both in Canada and the British Empire
, and it operated Canada's first major chain of food stores. One of Toronto's longstanding nicknames, "Hogtown", is attributable to the millions of pigs processed annually by the William Davies Company.
, emigrated to Canada in 1854, and soon thereafter set up a stall in Toronto's St. Lawrence Market
, where he sold cured hams and bacon. Realizing that there was an opportunity to export Canadian pork products to England
, he wrote to his brother in 1860 stating: "I think you will say that the quality of the meat I send is as good as you ever saw."
Davies rented a facility at Front
and Frederick Streets, a few blocks east of St. Lawrence Market, and was able to purchase and expand the plant in 1875. Soon he was shipping millions of pounds of pork cured in salt annually. The William Davies building at 145 Front Street East, later occupied by the J. & J. Safeworks, still stands today.
In 1879, William Davies constructed a new facility further to the east, on the south side of Front Street at the Don River, which soon became the second largest pork processing plant on the continent
. In addition to curing pork for export, he began slaughtering and processing hogs, and his business became the first continuous/moving rail hog-slaughtering facility in Canada. In 1891, the new plant was the first in Canada to feature an artificial refrigeration unit.
In many ways, Davies was responsible for establishing the modern Canadian pork industry. His efforts led to the establishment of the first Canadian Board of Agriculture, through which producers, processors and government officials could work together to expand the Canadian livestock industry.
As Davies had predicted in the 1850s, the firm's products did extremely well in the British market, and commanded higher prices that the offerings of American competitors due to the perception that they were of higher quality. By the 1890s, it was supplying over half of the entire Canadian bacon trade with Britain. The company's agent in Britain, John Wheeler Bennett, was known as the "Bismarck
of the bacon trade".
In 1891, the business was reorganized as the William Davies Company Limited. By mid-1917, the majority of the shares were held by Sir Joseph Flavelle
, a prominent Toronto businessman.
The company was the first Canadian food producer to establish its own chain of retail meat and grocery stores, the first major chain of food stores in Canada. By the 1880s, it operated 84 retail outlets across Ontario
. The firm was quick to open stores in fast growing areas along streetcar lines
; Flavelle was quoted as saying "where the trolley goes it fair to assume that we shall follow shortly."
The company was particularly successful during the First World War
. As a result of articles in the Canadian press suggesting that meat-packing plants were making excessive profits from the domestic market in wartime, the entire pork industry was the focus of much public outcry, including charges of excess profits and fraudulent meat curing practices. The managers of William Davies were routinely accused of being war profiteers and monopolists. The federal government
established a Royal Commission
by Order in Council in July 1917 to investigate both the William Davies Company and Matthews-Blackwell Company Limited (the firms later referred to in the commission's report as "the principal dealers in Canadian hog products in the English market"). In November 1917, after a series of hearings, the commission cleared the two companies of any wrongdoing, noting that any exceptionally high profits during the war were subject to the federal government's war taxes.
By 1920, the highly profitable wartime commodity markets had fallen, causing a rapid drop in prices. Food producers rushed to sell off inventory at reduced prices, causing prices to drop faster and further. The William Davies Company was "caught flat-footed" by the downturn, and was facing financial difficulties by the mid-1920s.
The downturn in the pork trade led to a merger between William Davies Company, Gunns Limited and Harris Abattoir Co. (in which William Davies Company held a 40% share) in 1927. William Davies Company was the foremost among the merging firms. The newly-merged entity was named Canada Packers
, and constituted Canada's largest meat processing and packing company. Not only did the merger improve the financial position of the constituent firms, it also blocked entry into the Canadian market by U.S.
firms. Eventually, the Canada Packers operations were consolidated, with the meat packing and abatoir functions relocating to Toronto's union stockyards in the west end of the city. The former William Davies Company facilities by the Don River were first converted into a cold storage facility and soap works, and were eventually sold.
Canada Packers later merged in 1991 with Maple Leaf Mills, a producer of flour-based foods, forming Maple Leaf Foods
.
. Today, peameal bacon
sandwiches are considered a "signature snack" at St. Lawrence Market
, the same market where William Davies got his start selling pork back in 1854.
Although the first William Davies plant still stands on Front Street in Toronto (albeit largely modified since its days as a pork curing facility), the last of the William Davies buildings by the Don River were demolished in the early 1990s in anticipation of the Ataratiri redevelopment project. Although Ataratiri never proceeded, the lands are currently being planned for redevelopment within the West Don Lands
precinct of Toronto's waterfront.
Meat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. At one time, it was the largest pork packer both in Canada and the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, and it operated Canada's first major chain of food stores. One of Toronto's longstanding nicknames, "Hogtown", is attributable to the millions of pigs processed annually by the William Davies Company.
Founding of the company
William Davies, born in 1831 in Wallingford, EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, emigrated to Canada in 1854, and soon thereafter set up a stall in Toronto's St. Lawrence Market
St. Lawrence Market
St. Lawrence Market is one of two major markets in Toronto, the other being Kensington Market.It features two buildings, both on the west side of Front St. East and Jarvis St. Each building holds different purposes:...
, where he sold cured hams and bacon. Realizing that there was an opportunity to export Canadian pork products to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he wrote to his brother in 1860 stating: "I think you will say that the quality of the meat I send is as good as you ever saw."
Davies rented a facility at Front
Front Street (Toronto)
Front Street is an east-west road in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street marks the rough outline of the shoreline of Lake Ontario as it existed during the original English settlement of York, then called Palace Street...
and Frederick Streets, a few blocks east of St. Lawrence Market, and was able to purchase and expand the plant in 1875. Soon he was shipping millions of pounds of pork cured in salt annually. The William Davies building at 145 Front Street East, later occupied by the J. & J. Safeworks, still stands today.
Business success
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. In addition to curing pork for export, he began slaughtering and processing hogs, and his business became the first continuous/moving rail hog-slaughtering facility in Canada. In 1891, the new plant was the first in Canada to feature an artificial refrigeration unit.
In many ways, Davies was responsible for establishing the modern Canadian pork industry. His efforts led to the establishment of the first Canadian Board of Agriculture, through which producers, processors and government officials could work together to expand the Canadian livestock industry.
As Davies had predicted in the 1850s, the firm's products did extremely well in the British market, and commanded higher prices that the offerings of American competitors due to the perception that they were of higher quality. By the 1890s, it was supplying over half of the entire Canadian bacon trade with Britain. The company's agent in Britain, John Wheeler Bennett, was known as the "Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
of the bacon trade".
In 1891, the business was reorganized as the William Davies Company Limited. By mid-1917, the majority of the shares were held by Sir Joseph Flavelle
Joseph Flavelle
Sir Joseph Wesley Flavelle, 1st Baronet was a Canadian businessman.Born in Peterborough, Canada West, he married Clara Ellsworth in 1882. Flavelle made his fortune in the meatpacking business as president of William Davies Company, which was the British Empire's largest pork packing firm...
, a prominent Toronto businessman.
The company was the first Canadian food producer to establish its own chain of retail meat and grocery stores, the first major chain of food stores in Canada. By the 1880s, it operated 84 retail outlets across Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. The firm was quick to open stores in fast growing areas along streetcar lines
Streetcar suburb
A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Early suburbs were served by horsecars, but by the late 19th century cable cars and electric streetcars, or trams, were used, allowing...
; Flavelle was quoted as saying "where the trolley goes it fair to assume that we shall follow shortly."
The company was particularly successful during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. As a result of articles in the Canadian press suggesting that meat-packing plants were making excessive profits from the domestic market in wartime, the entire pork industry was the focus of much public outcry, including charges of excess profits and fraudulent meat curing practices. The managers of William Davies were routinely accused of being war profiteers and monopolists. The federal government
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
established a Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
by Order in Council in July 1917 to investigate both the William Davies Company and Matthews-Blackwell Company Limited (the firms later referred to in the commission's report as "the principal dealers in Canadian hog products in the English market"). In November 1917, after a series of hearings, the commission cleared the two companies of any wrongdoing, noting that any exceptionally high profits during the war were subject to the federal government's war taxes.
Establishment of Canada Packers
The downturn in the pork trade led to a merger between William Davies Company, Gunns Limited and Harris Abattoir Co. (in which William Davies Company held a 40% share) in 1927. William Davies Company was the foremost among the merging firms. The newly-merged entity was named Canada Packers
Canada Packers
Canada Packers was the largest meat packing and meat processing company in Canada, located in Ontario. It is now part of Maple Leaf Foods through a merger with Maple Leaf Mills....
, and constituted Canada's largest meat processing and packing company. Not only did the merger improve the financial position of the constituent firms, it also blocked entry into the Canadian market by U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
firms. Eventually, the Canada Packers operations were consolidated, with the meat packing and abatoir functions relocating to Toronto's union stockyards in the west end of the city. The former William Davies Company facilities by the Don River were first converted into a cold storage facility and soap works, and were eventually sold.
Canada Packers later merged in 1991 with Maple Leaf Mills, a producer of flour-based foods, forming Maple Leaf Foods
Maple Leaf Foods
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a major Canadian food processing company, founded in 1927 as a merger of several major Toronto meat packers.-History:The company was originally known as Canada Packers...
.
Legacy
William Davies died in 1921, after injuries sustained by being butted by a goat. Once one of Canada's largest food producers, the William Davies Company not only graced its home city with the "Hogtown" nickname (or epithet), but William Davies also introduced peameal bacon, which continues to be popular in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Today, peameal bacon
Peameal bacon
Peameal bacon is a type of bacon originating in Canada. The name reflects the historic practice of rolling the bacon in ground dried yellow peas, although nowadays, it is generally rolled in yellow cornmeal...
sandwiches are considered a "signature snack" at St. Lawrence Market
St. Lawrence Market
St. Lawrence Market is one of two major markets in Toronto, the other being Kensington Market.It features two buildings, both on the west side of Front St. East and Jarvis St. Each building holds different purposes:...
, the same market where William Davies got his start selling pork back in 1854.
Although the first William Davies plant still stands on Front Street in Toronto (albeit largely modified since its days as a pork curing facility), the last of the William Davies buildings by the Don River were demolished in the early 1990s in anticipation of the Ataratiri redevelopment project. Although Ataratiri never proceeded, the lands are currently being planned for redevelopment within the West Don Lands
West Don Lands
The West Don Lands are the site of a planned neighbourhood under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area is bordered by the Don River, King Street, Parliament Street and the rail line adjacent to the Gardiner Expressway....
precinct of Toronto's waterfront.
External links
- Wm. Davies Co., Industries of Canada: Historical and Commercial Sketches of Toronto and Environs, M.G. Bixby & Co., 1866. (Reproduced by Our Roots • Nos Racines: Canada's Local Histories Online).
- William Davies, Dictionary of Canadian Biographies, Library and Archives Canada
- Official site of Maple Leaf Foods, the successor firm to the William Davies Company
- 08 September 1917 article on "Alleged Profits of the William Davies Company on Bacon in 1916..."
