Hendrie and Company are believed to be one of the oldest continuing cartage companies on the continent, tracing their origins back to 1853, when the Great Western Railway of Canada, having completed its line of rails from Niagara Falls to Windsor, decided to adopt a cartage system of pickup and delivery. In 1855 Mr. William Hendrie of Gateside Scotland, and Mr. John Shedden, began the Hendrie Shedden Company, which first served the communities of Hamilton and London.

In 1856, the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada finished its line from Montreal to Toronto and established a pickup and delivery service with Hendrie and Shedden as its agents. Three years later, George Hendrie, son of William Hendrie, travelled to Detroit and established a cartage service for the Great Western Railway at Detroit and Windsor.

Each morning, a regular procession of teams and lorries would proceed down Bay Street from the Market Street Stables, and travel to the freight house to be set by 7 o’clock. The freights, which came down during the night, were trucked across the floor of the warehouse to the waiting lorries. Shipments were usually unloaded around 9 o’clock.

The Hendrie Company used strong tow horses to cart around heavy items. "The driver of the tow horse would place thehook of the chain in the eyes of the pole and the load would go up the hiss with ease". A large stable of Clydesdale horses was kept at the headquarters. The majority of the vehicles used by the company were called lorries which consisted of a flat platform set on a swinging gear drawn by fast-stepping horses. These were used in connection with shipments of light goods or as required for fast service.

Confined space and a growing business eventually forced the company out of its original quarters. They moved to a site near Wellington Street belonging to the Hamilton Harbor commission. By 1946, the company had traded in its horses for large trucks to move heavy machinery from all parts of Ontario.