A worn, rubbery mould that was once used to make men’s felt hats is among a collection of artifacts that tells the stories of early immigrant entrepreneurship, which led early Toronto’s transformation into an industrialized city.
From hat-making to tailoring, shoe repair, furniture manufacturing and organ building, the excavated tools and aged merchandise uncovered from an archeological dig on Armoury St. cobble together the bits and pieces of the history behind the craftsmen who settled in St. John’s Ward, or simply “The Ward.”
The neighbourhood — bounded by College St., Queen St. W., Yonge St. and University Ave. — was the first settlement destination for many newcomers to the city, including previously enslaved Black Americans, Eastern European Jews, Italians, the Irish and the Chinese.
“There is a lot of commonality between the people then and the people now. One of the great things about holding these artifacts is they connect you with the people, so you are able to understand what past lives and experiences were like and appreciate the vibrant and multicultural city that we have today,” said archeologist Abbey Flower.
“This is what makes history real. Archaeology brings history to life.”
The precious finds were discovered in 2015 by Infrastructure Ontario when it led a complex excavation and archeological dig to build a new Toronto courthouse, once a public parking lot, just steps from today’s city hall.
Heritage specialists and archeologists from Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants recovered and documented tens of thousands of items found here, including leather shoes, women’s hosiery, perfume and nail polish bottles, smoking pipes, children’s toys and ceramic kitchenware, among many items.
Last year, Infrastructure Ontario and the city of Toronto held a first exhibit showcasing items that shed light on the history of early Black immigrants in the neighbourhood.
The second instalment, unveiled this week, focuses on labour and industry in the Ward, displaying items that reflect the work done in homes and early factories in the community from 1830s through the 1960s.
Flower said many early settlers ran shops out of their homes, peddling goods from furniture to textiles to shoes.
City directories recorded that at least a dozen Black, Irish and English shoemakers lived and worked on the site; one of the most prominent cobblers was Francis G. Simpson, an abolitionist and leader in Toronto’s early Black community.
Among the items unearthed on the site were straight pins, buttons made of ceramic and glass, thimbles, wooden spools and bodkins, as well as a ceramic pin box, giving a glimpse into the making of hand-stitched garments before ready-to-wear clothing became common.
“The newcomers brought their trades and tools with them. They made handcrafted, quality items before industrialization, when their companies were becoming bigger with the (growing) demand for ready-made products,” said Flower.
“You started to see the transition of the small businesses from operating out of homes to manufacturing in family-run factories in three-story buildings.”
Factories gradually started replacing houses in the Ward between 1895 and the 1940s, as the city pushed residential establishments out in favour of industrial development.
Eaton’s, for instance, ran a number of factories in the Ward, taking advantage of the pool of Jewish garment workers who lived in the neighbourhood. The Pearl Furniture Company’s factory and warehouse were housed at 29 Centre Ave., before it was demolished for parking around 1983.
One of the rare finds, a 2.5-kilogram hat form, was unearthed from the Fashion Hat and Cap Company, which was located on Chestnut St. between the 1940s and 1960s. Workers would have used it to hold the hats and steam them into shape, Flower said.
“They did not have the same technology we do, but their lives were not that different from ours,” said Flower. “The people in the Ward had the same ambitions, goals and values in life. They were entrepreneurial and invested in their future, trying to make the best of life for themselves, their children and the community.”
Both the first and second instalments of the Armoury St. dig are on display beside the east and west tower elevators at Toronto City Hall.