Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society
Index of Business and Labour Holdings


List of Fonds, S-Z




B 2

Workman's Co-operative Association Restaurant fonds

1924-1947
5 cm of textual records (594 p)

Administrative history
The Workman's Co-operative Association Restaurant, or "Hoito", was associated with local Finnish organizations particularly those of a socialist political nature. It operated out of 624 Simpson St., Fort William in 1925, and by 1929 had taken over a vacant building on the south side to occupy 620-24 Simpson St.. Edward Sanjon was manager in 1925. The restaurant moved in 1930-31 to 539-41 Simpson St. and closed in 1951-52.

Scope and Content
Journals, cashbooks, and bank account books belonging to the Workman's Co-operative Association Restaurant.
Series B 2/1/1-2: Journals and cashbooks, 306 p, Mar. 1924 - July 1926
Two cashbooks that both show daily income and expenditures for items such as milk, meat, groceries, tobacco, wages, rent and other miscellaneous items. They include daily cash register receipts, and tallies of each month's account which are balanced in a statement in Finnish.
1)Mar. 1924 - July 1926.
2)Aug. 1925 - July 1926.
Series B 2/2/1-2: Bank Account Books, each 188 p, July 30 1931 - 14 Nov. 1947
Two bank account books of the Workman's Co-operative Association with the Imperial Bank of Canada show deposits, withdrawls and balances. The balances show a decline as time goes on.
1)30 July 1931 - 28 May 1934.
2)21 June1944 - 14 Nov. 1947.

Notes
Formerly catalogued into the museum collection, 985.20.1.

B 10

Thomas Marks and Company fonds

1874-1893
78 cm of textual records

Administrative history
Thomas Marks and Brothers was first established in 1857 in Bruce Mines. In 1868, employee James Dickson established a branch office at "the Station", later known as Prince Arthur's Landing (later Port Arthur and now part of Thunder Bay). Thomas Marks (1834-1900) became a permanent resident at Prince Arthur's Landing in 1872 and the stores office there became the head office. Thomas Marks was the small community's leading commercial figure and played an important role in the local Board of Trade and in politics as Reeve of Shuniah for nine years as well as Port Arthur's first Mayor. His interests included Railway construction, ship building and ownership, real estate, mining, hotel ownership as well as his mercantile business. Closely associated with Thomas Marks were his nephews George T. Marks and the Wiley Brothers. He was a leading figure in the Prince Arthur's Landing and Kaministiquia Railway project and the Ontario Rainy River Railway project. He was also involved in both federal and provincial politics as an active member of the Liberal Conservative Association.

Scope and Content
Series B 10/1/1-17 includes letter books containing primarily the business correspondence of Thomas Marks. For example, letters accompanying promissory notes and cheques, letters of inquiry regarding shipments of merchandise to and from his company. Contains also personal letters of Thomas Marks regarding economic issues, real estate deals, shipping and navigation, political issues, mining, railways, fisheries, and the formation of a local militia. Letters are copies made via the work-press method. Items included are:
1) 30 June 1874-31 Dec. 1875, (indexed, cover missing, damaged).
2) 4 Jan.1875-29 Dec. 1876.
3) 5 Jan. 1877-27 Dec. 1877.
4) 3 Jan. 1878-30 June 1879.
5) 29 July 1879-28 June 1880.
6) 28 July 1880-19 June 1881.
7) 29 June 1881-27 Feb. 1883.
8) 24 March 1884-20 Sept. 1884.
9) 14 Apr. 1885-8 Sept. 1885 (some items are typed, item is fragile).
10) 28 Oct. 1885-30 Sept 1886 (mostly contains accounts of purchases).
11) 15 May 1888-17 Mar. 1892.
12) 16 Apr. 1890-12 Oct. 1891.
13) 23 Sept. 1891-30 Nov. 1891.
14) 17 Mar. 1892-10 July 1893.
15) Letter and telegram book. 24 Oct. 1879-28 Feb. 1883 (fragile).
16) "Steamer City of Montreal" letter book of Thomas Leach, owner prior to transfer of ship to Thomas Marks. 3 Mar. 1877-10 June 1881.
17) Private letter book of Thomas Marks 1877-1881 and a letter and account book of the Duncan (formerly Shuniah) Silver Mining Company.

Notes
Physical condition
Some of these volumes have been water damaged and are fragile.
Originals and reproductions
B 10/1/17: Thomas Marks' private letter book and accounts of Duncan Silver Mining Company copied on microfilm from originals in Archives of Ontario, Ms. 725.

B 11

Young and Lillie fonds

1918-1964
336 fol. 90 p. of textual records

Administrative history
Young and Lillie Limited was a real estate and insurance company in Fort William, later it was know as W.C. Lillie and Company Limited. Lillie came to the Lakehead in 1886 and his firm was organized by him in partnership with S.C. Young in 1905. On Young's death in 1941, the firm became W.C. Lillie and when Lillie's son joined in 1940 it was renamed W.C. Lillie and Company Limited.

Scope and Content
A collection of general correspondence regarding the business of Young and Lillie and an insurance plan kept by Young and Lillie.
Series B 11/1/1. - General correspondence. - 6 cm. - 1918-1964
Letters, telegrams, policy statements and agreements of Young and Lillie Limited and W.C. Lillie and Company Limited from 1918 to 1964. Includes such things as damage to Paterson Elevator, 1926; Fort William Paper Company, McKellar Estate, Great Lakes Paper Company, Kakabeka Falls Brewing Company, various elevators, YMCA, Elora Gold Mine, Fort William Board of Education 1963, Abitibi mission mill fire 1957, and Canada Car and Foundry 1918-19.
Series B 11/2/1. - Insurance plan. - 90 p. - 1961
Insurance plan of the City of Fort William, last updated, Aug. 1961, produced by Underwriters Survey Bureau Limited, Ottawa. Shows location and nature of each building in the city including construction materials and approximate sizes. Colour-coded, bound in binder. Arranged by geographical area. Indexed. Fold-out pages.

Notes
Formerly catalogued into the museum collection, 979.102.99a+b under the K. Denis collection, and 978.9.279.

B 17

W.S. Piper Hardware Company fonds

1890-[195-?]
62 cm of textual records

Administrative history
William S. Piper founded the firm bearing his name in 1884. His first hardware store was located on Brown Street in Westfort, Fort William (now Thunder Bay), and in 1886 he opened a Port Arthur branch which was managed by his younger brother Hugh M. Piper, but it was destroyed by fire a year later. In 1888, a Victoria Avenue site was purchased, a store was opened and Hugh operated it. William S. Piper began the Fort William Brick and Tile Company in 1892 which was still in operation until the Second World War, and he established a farm in Slate River which he operated from 1888 until his death in 1927. His brothers Hugh, Robert, James, Thomas and Carson were also in the hardware business.

Scope and Content
A collection of day books, ledgers, letter books, and records regarding the establishment and business of the W.S. Piper Hardware store.
Series B 17/1/1-4. - Day books. - 18 cm. - 1890-1896
Journals of first entry giving daily accounts of cash sales. 1) Piper brothers, from 11 Dec. 1890 to 20 Oct. 1891. 2) Piper brothers, from 20 Oct. 1891 to 23 June 1892. 3) W.S. Piper, from 21 Jan. 1895 to 24 Sept. 1895. 4) W.S. Piper, from 25 Sept. 1895 to 10 July 1896. These volumes are numbered 1, 2, 6, and 7 respectively.
Series B 17/2/1. - Ledgers. - 35 cm. - 1890-1901
Ledgers or journals of second entry for W.S. Piper and Piper Brothers hardware.
1) 1890
2) 1892
3) Index to 1892 ledger
4) 1897-1898
5) 1899-1901
Series B 17/3/1. - Letterbook. - 3 cm. - 1908-1917
Copies of letters of W.S. Piper made by the letter press method, and relating mainly to the activities of his hardware business. Some letters may also relate to the Fort William Brick and Tile Company which Piper founded. Most entries are dated 1908 and refer to requests for information about stock and orders for stock. There were 411 pages used.
Series B 17/4/1. - Miscellanea. - 6 cm. - 1895-[195-?]
Invoices relating to W.S. Piper farm account, 1919-1920; miscellaneous invoices, 1895-1896 and 1902; court summons and legal papers regarding recovery of debts, 1891 and 1892; charter of W.S. Piper Limited and two stock certificates, 1927; Blank order forms and letterhead; two booklets celebrating the 50th and 60th anniversaries of W.S. Piper Hardware; scrapbook of W.S. Piper newspaper advertisements, 1930-1937; and a Certificate of Appreciation Imperial Oil to W.S. Piper.

Notes
Formerly catalogued into the museum collection, 972.76.4-7; 972.76.9-12; 978.77.6; 978.77.2; 975.6.271-74, 218, 307; 972.2.372a; 975.6.40; 972.76.17b and 22; 977.122.1; 975.100.11; 975.6.39, 290, 38, 280-282.

B 20

Scandinavian Boarding House fonds

1911-14
2 cm of textual records

Administrative history
The Scandinavian Boarding House, with 12 rooms, was located at 190-192 Cumberland Street North in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay). It operated from 1911 to 1914. The proprietor of the house was Oscar Freeberg a married Lutheran who arrived in this area ca. 1910.

Scope and content
Series B 20/1/1. - Hotel register
Contains names of boarders, dates, town of residence, room number and time of arrival.

B 23

Woodside Brothers Iron Foundry fonds

1888-1903, 1922-1923
2 cm of textual records

Administrative history
Woodside Brothers Iron Foundry Company of Port Arthur began as the Port Arthur Iron Works in 1883. The foundry was operated by the four Woodside brothers John, Jim, Tom, and William. The plant had the first electric power plant at the Lakehead in 1884, and produced a wide variety of goods over the years: grain samplers, sewer castings, an oat hulling machine, stoves, shipbuilding castings, and forestry, sawmill, and railway equipment. At its peak in the 1930s and 1940s, the plant employed 22 men. The plant closed in the late 1980s and the last building were torn down in 1997 after a fire.

Scope and Content
Series B 23/1/1: miscellaneous
Miscellaneous records of the Woodside Brothers Foundry including: 1) a stock book containing lists of stock and machinery on hand for each year in the various parts of the plant, 2) One advertising book for the company's Forest Loader and Portable Derrick, c.1920's. 3) A list of losses due to a fire, date unknown. 4) Invoices. 5) Catalogue of the Giffard Wood Company, for ice tools, 1906-7.

Notes
Formerly catalogued into the museum collection, 983.53.1 a-e.

B 25

Silver Islet Mining Company fonds

1870-1884
31 cm of textual records

Administrative history
The Silver Islet Mining Company of New York purchased the Silver Islet property (known as the Woods Location), from the Montreal Mining Company in November of 1870. With A.H. Sibley as president and William Bell Frue as superintendent, Silver Islet mine became the most successful mining operation in the area with two bonanzas, the first in 1870 and the second in 1878. Its unique underwater location required the company to build a massive stone platform off the shore of Lake Superior. Richard Trethewey replaced Frue as superintendent in 1875. The company was reorganized in 1877 as the Silver Islet Consolidated Mining and Lands Company. Silver Islet mine closed in 1884, after the company failed to reveal a third bonanza and production dwindled.

Scope and Content
Silver Islet Mining Company fonds is a collection of invoices, cheques, journals, ledgers, issue books, contract books, photographs and other miscellaneous items regarding the business and financial aspects of the company.
Series B 25/1/1-3. - Invoices. - 19 cm. - 1872-1880
1) Bound invoice book, 1872-1874. Invoices pasted on pages 1- 111, the remaining pages are blank.
2) Bound invoice book, 1879-1880. Invoices pasted on pages 1- 135, the remaining pages are blank.
3) Individual invoices from 1872, 1873 and 1880. They appear to have been originally pasted on pages of invoice books (five invoices).
Series B 25/2/1-4. - Cheques. - 6 leaves. - 1870s
1) Two blank cheques in gold coin of the Silver Mining Company of Silver Islet.
2) Nine blank cheques in currency of the Silver Mining Company of Silver Islet (one cheque mounted).
3) One blank cheque of the Silver Islet Consolidated Mining and Lands Company (change of name took place in 1877).
4) One blank cheque of Wm. B. Frue.
Series B 25/3/1-3. - Journals. - 3.5 cm. - 1877, 1882, 1883-1884
1) Sales book, probably from company store. The name of Charles Hutchison is inscribed on the front, 1882.
2) Sales book, probably from company store, 1877.
3) Sales book, probably from company store. the name of J.G. Gillis is inscribed on the cover, 1883-1884.
Series B 25/4/1. - Ledger. - 1 cm. - 1870-1871
This ledger gives an account of items probably purchased from the company store. The cover and the first 22 pages are missing.
Series B 25/5/1. - Issue book. - 2 cm. - 1874-1882
The cover of the issue book is titled "Issue Book B".
Series B 25/6/1. - Contract book. - 5 cm. - 1872-1874
Pages 1-34 are used.
Series B 25/7/1-10. - Miscellaneous. - 5 cm. - 1871-1882
1) Diamond Drill Record, 1877-1880.
2) Money order issued from Silver Islet, 1876.
3) Notice of a shareholders' meeting from the office of the Silver Islet Consolidated Mining and Lands Company, 1882.
4) Fragment of a letter from Mrs. Williams of South Wales, dated 23 Nov. 23 [18??]
5) A photograph of three unidentified children.
6) Customs receipt, 1873.
7) Two Bills of Lading, 1871.
8) Customs declaration, 1875.
9) A page from Time book for Oct. 1872.
10) Two copies of the Constitution and By-laws of the Silver Islet Employees Benefit Society, 1880.

Notes
Formerly catalogued into the museum collection, 972.76.8,14,19; 978.35.2, 3, 4, 5a-e; 973.12.4, 5; 975.25.29; 972.177.1-3, 8a-b, 9, 10, 12; 978.61.1a-b, 2a-b; 978.25.28; 983.20.19.; 972.2.350.

B 27

Steep Rock Iron Mines fonds

1890-1979
Microfilm copy, 4 reels of textual records

Administrative history
The Steep Rock Mines were developed in the Second World War because of the huge demand for iron ore. Though the extent of the field had long been known, the cost of extracting the ore from beneath Steep Rock Lake had made profitable mining prohibitive. General Don Hogarth, President from 1942, with the financial backing of Cyrus Eaton and others (including considerable backing from the Canadian and American governments, the latter through the Reconstructive Finance Corporation), drained the lake and began open pit mining. The first ore was mined in September, 1944. After the war expansion was undertaken and a second major ore body opened up. 17,000 tons of ore were shipped in 1945, by 1951 this figure had reached 1,327,000 and, by 1956, 3,389,000 tons, the peak year for production. After 1956 production declined even though underground mining was added to the open pit operations. In 1953, Inland Steel Company exercised its option to lease part of the ore body at Steep Rock, and through its Canadian subsidiary, Caland Ore Company Limited, it began extracting ore in 1960 in quantities rivalling that of Steep Rock Iron Mines. In 1976 Canadian Pacific Investments Limited purchased controlling interest in Steep Rock, though by then the mine was in its final years of production, as the ore body was rapidly depleting. The mine closed its doors for good in 1979.

Scope and Content
Series B 27/1/1-4. - microfilm. - 4 reels
Records divested by the company just before it closed in 1980 including:
Reel One: 1) George T. Macks/R.H. Flaherty Papers, 1890-1917, 1940, documents, correspondence and reports on the early development of the Steep Rock property. 2) Development history, 1939-1957. 3) Pamphlets and annual reports, 1944-1976. 4) Mineral Industry Operation Reports and correspondence, 1975-1979. 5) Picture Scrapbook, 1945-1947.
Reel Two:6) Employee newsletters, The Bulletin and Steep Rock Features, 1967-1979.
Reel Three: 7) Steep Rock Echo, Dec. 1945-April 1961. 8) Jesse Rawn Scrapbook on Steep Rock and Atikokan history, 1956. 9-14) Six scrapbooks, 1938-1959.
Reel Four: 15) M.S. Fotheringham correspondence on ore shipping, 1962-1967.

Notes
Originals and reproductions
Original documents are located at the Atikokan Centennial Museum. Microfilmed by Ontario Archives, ms.558.

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