One of the portable steam Waterous engines, shown here mounted on a wheeled, horse-drawn carriage, is being used to thresh wheat.
Courtesy of Archival Collections, University of Guelph Library.
Within a year of its founding, their business had grown to the point that they had outgrown their limited facilities. Donald Fisher had also indicated he wished to terminate the lease and so they were forced to seek new accommodations. By December 23, 1878, the partners had purchased a large lot, bounded to the north by the Lynn River, on the northwest corner of Norfolk and Union streets for $400. (Today, the site accommodates Simcoe’s Federal Post Office and Customs facilities and a popular lawn bowling green.) By February 1879, Donald Fisher had resumed possession of his foundry and machine shop.
The next few months were busy ones for the partners as they prepared their new site and studied plans and made drawings for the construction of a modern factory to contain an efficient foundry, machine shop, carpentry shop, and design facility. On June 21, 1879, they were successful in obtaining a loan for $1,565 to finance construction from the Royal Loan & Savings Company of Simcoe.2 In 1880, the first large order for machinery to be manufactured in the new factory was received. The order was for a number of Montross anti-friction car-axle boxes for the Chicago Street Railroad. The inventor, Levi H. Montross, supervised the work, all of which was carried out in the new West & Peachey shop. Influenced by this success and by their sales of the Waterous steam portable engines, the partners were also gearing up to manufacture their own brand of steam engines and boilers on site.
In August of 1881, a further major improvement was made with the installation of a large, very powerful steam engine to power all the machinery of their shop. The following year, 1882, saw another significant first for the firm when they constructed a steam-traction engine for Findlay Butler, a local threshing-machine operator, who moved from farm to farm with a mobile grain separator. Prior to this, it would likely have been powered by a Watrous portable steam engine. This was one of the first such engines ever built in Canada. The machine was thoroughly tested on the nearby farm of John Jackson, West’s former employer. Here it demonstrated the superb engineering and skilled workmanship of the firm by working flawlessly in threshing Jackson’s wheat crop at the remarkable rate (for the period) of 90 bushels per hour.
In order to improve and extend their shop facilities, including the addition of $3,000 worth of improved machinery, the partners applied to the Simcoe town fathers in March 1882 for a loan of $6,000 over a ten-year period, at 6 percent. The committee of investigation, finding the firm’s net worth to be $8,000, produced a vote by council in favour of the loan. In accordance with town policy, a bylaw was proposed and voted on by the property owners of the town in May of that year. The result was a considerable majority in favour of the loan, and led to a mortgage for the requested amount being drawn, dated November 28, 1882. The loan allowed the improvements to go forward, including the purchase of a new universal radial drill and a punch and shear from the firm of McKechnie and Bertram of Dundas. West & Peachey was now well equipped to manufacture boilers and steam engines. In the spring of 1883, they produced a 60-horsepower boiler and a 50-horsepower steam engine for Messrs. Dease and Stearnes of Essex, Ontario. At the time this equipment was touted as the largest ever manufactured in this country.
The West & Peachey foundry and factory was located on the corner of Union and Norfolk streets in Simcoe. Photo by the Moore Studio of Simcoe, circa 1945.
Courtesy of the Eva Brook Donly Museum, Norfolk Historical Society Archives, #6-3.
FIRE CAUSES SETBACK FOR THE FIRM
Their initial successes and the rosy future that seemed assured for the progressive firm of West & Peachey received a staggering setback on October 18, 1883, when fire heavily damaged the west end of the factory. By the time flames were seen licking the eaves and roof, considerable damage had been done to the wooden buildings. Thanks to the valiant efforts of the town’s firemen, assisted by many local citizens, they were successful in saving the moulding shop and the east end of the building. The steam engine, boiler, and most of their valuable machinery were also spared from the flames.
The fire, thought to have originated from an overheated stove in the pattern-maker’s room, caused a loss to the firm estimated at $9,000. All but $3,000 of this total was covered by the firm’s insurance policies. The townspeople of Simcoe were both pleased and relieved to learn that the firm of West & Peachey had survived the catastrophe and were quickly making interim repairs. Within two weeks the cheery blast of the firm’s steam whistle was calling employees to another busy day in the factory. What remained of the buildings were winterized to allow production to continue for the winter months. Meanwhile, the partners set to work designing a fireproof brick building with cement floors to be built the following spring.
THE WEST-MONTROSS METAL SHINGLE
Prior to the fire the partners had been working with Levi H. Montross to design and patent a metal shingle. The patent for the West-Montross metal shingle was granted on February 18, 1884, the first patented invention that West & Peachey had a share in. The company, along with Montross, established a separate firm to be known as the “West, Peachey and Montross Metallic Shingle Manufacturers.”3
Although metal shingles were being made in the United States, theirs was the only firm in Canada manufacturing this type of shingle with srengthening ribs. The shingles were formed on a steam-operated press, with a star or a maple leaf incorporated into the centre of each that gave the square shingle an attractive, ornamental appearance. The shingles were joined together on installation by a built-in interlocking joint. The two main advantages of the metal shingles over cedar ones were their durability and the protection they gave against fire.
Once installed, the metal shingles readily conformed to the shape of the roof, were securely fastened by six barbed-wire nails, and required no repairs. Being dipped in a composition of linseed oil and iron-class paint during the production process protected them from rust. They only required repainting every six to eight years, and their original cost was little more than that of wooden shingles. Soon many homes in Simcoe were clad in the West-Montross metal shingles, and orders were being received from Nova Scotia in the east to Manitoba in the west, and as far south as Columbus, Ohio. Despite their obvious popularity, West & Peachey dissolved their partnership with Levi Montross on January 24, 1885 — barely a year after the patent was granted.
LEAN YEARS AND A NEW DIRECTION
An addition to the foundry in the fall of 1885 put West & Peachey in an ideal position to resume construction of steam engines, boilers, and a wide range of sawmill equipment. Early 1887 saw the manufacture of two steam engines. The first was built for James Marr of Port Royal, a hamlet on Big Creek, west of Port Rowan in Norfolk County.
The second was built for the Simcoe carriage makers Challen and Clowes.
At a town council meeting on March 7 of that year, a financial statement was presented regarding the firm of West & Peachey and showing assets of over $2,400 and liabilities of $500. It was obvious that their assets had declined significantly since they obtained the 1882 loan from the town. With the decrease in activity at