INDUSTRIAL HAMILTON: A TRAIL TO THE FUTURE
Canada Bolt and Nut Company, Limited
The Canada Bolt and Nut company was established in 1910, the same year that it
was incorporated into the Steel Company of Canada; however, its roots reach further
back to the Canadian Bolt Company.
The Canadian Bolt Company (est. 1868) in Perth, Ontario, was thought to be one of the first companies in Canada to manufacture heavy production tools. Formerly, all such equipment was brought in from the United States. In 1872, the Canadian Bolt Company was moved to Toronto, but profits dwindled and the factory was closed. The plant was bought and organized as the Dominion Bolt Works in 1879, and a year later the name was changed to the Dominion Bolt and Nut Company.
John Livingston, the founder of the Dominion Bolt and Nut Company, purchased a large tract of land outside Toronto (which eventually became the village of Swansea) and erected a factory and a warehouse/office building.
A tragic accident occurred in January of 1884, when a passenger train carrying workmen on their way to the factory collided with a freight on its way from Hamilton. Twenty-nine men were killed.
Over the next twelve years, the enterprise changed hands (and titles) repeatedly, until 1910 when it was incorporated as the Canada Bolt and Nut Company. In July of the same year, it became part of the Steel Company of Canada.
References:
- Kilbourn, William. The Elements Combined: A History of the Steel Company
of Canada. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, and Company, Limited, 1960.
- The Steel Company of Canada, Limited The 25th Milestone: A Brief History
of Stelco, The Steel Company of Canada Limited. Hamilton, 1935.
