MADE IN HAMILTON
20TH CENTURY
INDUSTRIAL TRAIL

SITE 34
L., S. & P. SAWYER AND COMPANY, 1856
BALL PACKAGING PRODUCTS CANADA

This company can be traced back to 1836, when John Fisher set up a small foundry near the corner of James Street and York Boulevard. He had financial assistance from his cousin Dr. Calvin McQuesten. Fisher, McQuesten & Company produced some of the first threshing machinery in Canada. In 1840, McQuesten brought his nephew Luther Sawyer to work at the foundry as an apprentice machinist.

This plant was built in 1855 after fire destroyed the original downtown foundry. When Fisher retired two years later, Luther and his brothers Samuel and Payson Sawyer took over, renaming it L., S. & P. Sawyer and Company. The Sawyers expanded production to include steam engines and road-making machinery.

In 1889, it became the Sawyer & Massey Company, after the Massey family of Toronto became major investors. In 1910, some local businessmen gained control and expanded production. The company was converted to war production after 1914, filling large artillery shell contracts and turning out a large number of steam road wagons. After the conclusion of the First World War, the company concentrated on the manufacture of road-making machinery. Following the Second World War, the Hamilton Bridge Company bought Sawyer-Massey. The remaining original buildings are now occupied by Ball Packaging.