Industrial site.

Details of Site Location: The east side of Weston Road, south of Rogers Road, roughly opposite the block between Cayuga and Seneca Avenues. The CN rail line is behind it to the east. More precise boundaries require a title search.

Boundary History: Part of the brick and tile industry located along Weston Road between St. Clair and Eglinton Avenues, which began in 1856 with the coming of the Grand Trunk Railway.

Current Use of Property: Commercial and industrial buildings.

Historical Description: This company went into production in 1894 and in 1906 was still the only paving brick company in the province. The paving brick was used in the construction of the Union Stock Yards, which was entirely brick paved. It was used between the tracks of the Toronto Street Railway lines and for brick paving throughout the city. The company’s gray building brick was also used in stockyards construction. In 1902, William Pears, former Mayor of Toronto Junction (1894/95) was elected president of the company. He also became general manager. Mr. Pears lost all his property and business interests in the Depression of the 1930s. Although technically in York Township at the time, the company is generally described in directories and publications as being in Toronto Junction.

Relative Importance: The first and only factory of its type in the province at the turn of the century gives it importance. In 1906, the company produced five million paving bricks and four million building bricks per year, along with an undisclosed number of sewer and sidewalk bricks.

Planning Implications: As the use of the area is unlikely to change, and as there is little likelihood of archaeological investigative success, it is recommended that this site be marked with a plaque giving due to a pioneer paving brick company and to William Pears.

Reference Sources: M.B. Carlton, Clay and the Clay Industry of Ontario, No 5 (Ontario Bureau of Mines, 1906); Catherine Townsley Pears, Flying With One Wing (1989); J.H. Beers, Commemorative Biographical Record of the County of York, Ontario (1907); Goad’s Atlas (1903).

Acknowledgements: West Toronto Junction Historical Society.