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- This
column by John Cosway is a mix of 50 years of media memories
and 15 years of buying and selling experiences via live and online
auctions, flea markets, antique stores and markets etc.
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- By John Cosway
If the cobbled walkways of The Distillery could speak, what varied
tales they would tell - a blend of development, industry, prohibition,
despair, death, neglect, rebirth and tourism.
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- Researching Ontario landmarks such as the former Gooderham
and Worts distillery on Mill Street in downtown Toronto reaffirms
my belief that former Sun colleague Mike Filey's niche
in life as an Ontario historian is forever enlightening.
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- Millions of gallons of spirits and whiskey were distilled
by brothers-in-law William Gooderham and James Worts,
beginning with a waterfront gristmill in 1837 and then at the
lavish 13-acre Mill Street distillery, built in 1859.
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- Consumers agreed the whiskey and spirits churned out by the
distillery for more than 150 years were good to the last drop
- and that very last drop was distilled there in 1990.
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- During the 1990's, daily commuters passing by the dozens
of abandoned landmark Victorian Industrial Architecture buildings
in cars, buses and trains, knew little of their history - or
their fate. We thought the 45 buildings and the imposing 100-foot
chimney would probably be razed for yet another condo development.
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- But the 19th century distillery was destined for a brighter
future in the 21st century as Toronto's only national Historic
Site and, as of 2003, a "pedestrian-only village entirely
dedicated to arts, culture and entertainment."
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- Vehicles were not an issue in 1831, when James Worts emigrated
from Yorkshire, England, and settled in the Town of York. His
first labour of love as a miller was constructing a 21-metre
high waterfront windmill at the mouth of the Don River.
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- The Worts gristmill was operational when his wealthy brother-in-law,
William Gooderham, arrived in Canada from England in 1832 and
became a partner with a $3,000 investment. The partnership was
short-lived, however. Worts, widowed and depressed after his
wife, Elizabeth, 39, died in childbirth in February of 1834,
committed suicide the day she died by jumping into a well he
had just built at the mill.
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- William Worts, one of his six children, drowned in
Toronto harbour within the same period, leaving siblings James
Gooderham Worts, 15, a younger brother and three sisters
as sole survivors of the family. William Gooderham and his wife,
who had six children, took in the five orphans.
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- William Gooderham carried on with the gristmill business
and later partnered with James Worts Jr., who had inherited his
father's share of the business.
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- In one of those grand moments of perfect timing, an increase
in harvested grain from Upper Canada farms in 1837 prompted Gooderham
and James Worts Jr. to branch into distilled spirits. They produced
their first batch of whiskey that year.
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 In 1859, a new Gooderham and Worts
distillery was constructed on Mill Street. It was heralded as
vital to Toronto's industrial development and included a five-storey
building for the steam mills and distillery, topped by the 100-foot
chimney.
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- The complex survived a devastating $100,000 blaze in 1869
and it was back to business as usual - booming.
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- Ontario history books show just how productive the distillery
was in its prime - 2.1 million gallons of whiskey and spirits
in 1871, with shipments to several provinces, New York, Buenos
Aires, Rio de Janeiro and other South American ports.
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- The phenomenal ride for William Gooderham and James Worts
Jr. came to an end in the early 1880's when both died within
a year of each other. George Gooderham, one of William's
six children, inherited the business and became sole operator.
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- William Gooderham and his son, George, financed several lasting
architectural delights in Toronto. William's contribution to
the city's landscape included construction of Little Trinity
Church on King Street East in 1843.
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- After his father died, George went on a building spree, financing
construction of:
- Worker cottages on Sackville and Trinity streets in the mid-1880s;
- - A Romanesque-style mansion at Bloor and St. George Streets
in 1889, which became the York Club, a "gentleman's club
for millionaires, in 1910;
- - The eye-catching Gooderham "Flatiron" Building
at Front and Wellington in 1892 to house his corporate empire
and is now designated as a historic site;
- - The King Edward Hotel on King Street in 1902, still a bustling
hotel.
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- George, who fathered a dozen children while becoming Ontario's
richest citizen, also expanded his interests to include railroads,
life insurance, newspapers (Southam) and philanthropy. He died
of pneumonia on May 1, 1905 at age 75, leaving a lasting legacy
of business achievements and architecture.
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- The Gooderham family continued the distillery business, but
during the next two decades, the good fortunes enjoyed for decades
by Gooderham and Worts family members took direct hits with World
War 1 and Canada's short-lived prohibition. To support the war
effort, the distillery converted its operations to manufacturing
acetone.
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- The end of the Gooderham reign arrived in 1923, when the
family sold their controlling interest to Harry Hatch.
In 1927, Gooderham & Worts was merged with the Hiram Walker
& Sons Ltd. as Hiram Walker-Gooderham & Worts Ltd. Canadian
Club soon became the prime product at the distillery, with most
other products being moved to a plant in Windsor.
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- In 1957, Gooderham & Worts switched from rye whiskey
to rum products and in 1986, the conglomerate Allied-Lyons, bought
Hiram Walker - Gooderham & Worts Ltd. Small amounts of Gooderham
& Worts whisky and rum, as well as antifreeze, were produced
at the Toronto distillery until it closed in 1990.
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- It was a monumental run for a business launched by two British
immigrants in 1837. But the wealth generated by the sale of whiskey
and spirits for more than 150 years left a legacy of Toronto
landmarks to be appreciated by generations to come.
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- If I were a drinking man, I'd drink to that.
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- Other articles by John Cosway
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