Toronto Drydock Company

Toronto Drydock Company is a shipbuilding repair company in Canada and the name of two shipbuilders in the 19th and 20th Centuries respectively.

The first Toronto Dry Dock Company was established in 1847 by William Botsford Jarvis in the Province of Canada to build ships to ply the waters of the Great Lakes.[1]

Another Toronto Dry Dock Company Limited was established in 1917 (and acquired shipbuilding business from Patrick Dixon and son Harry J. Dixon) under the Ontario Companies Act to build larger ships and remained in business until 1964 and was later acquired as part of the Port Weller Dry Docks.[2]

The facilities were sold following the bankruptcy of Port Weller by Seaway Marine & Industrial Incorporated in 2006.[3]

The current Toronto Drydock is a small marine repair facility built from the former Great Lakes pulpwood carrier Menier Consol and located in the eastern Portland area near Keating Channel.

History of Shipbuilding in Toronto

Shipbuilding in Toronto dates back to the period when shipping was isolated to the Great Lakes. Early ship builders were conducted by the Royal Navy for use in the Great Lakes.

Toronto was never made famous as a major ship building port, but the industry did exist.

Polson Iron Works was a major builder of steamers in the 1900s. Established in Toronto in 1883, the Iron Works went bankrupt after World War I due to lack of tariff protection.

A number of other builders dotted along Toronto:

The Rouge River's ship building was linked to the prolific lumber industry. The ship building industry ranged between 1810 to 1856.

Most of the ships were used for passenger and to carry potash, grain and lumber between Oswego, New York and Toronto, then called York.

A list of ships built in Toronto:

Product list and details
 Make/Model   Description   Fleet size   Year acquired   Year retired   Notes 
HMS Arcturus naval warship 1 1942 Toronto Drydocks Limited
Mayflower ferry 1 1890 Bathurst Street Wharf
Primrose ferry 1 1890 Bathurst Street Wharf
Bluebell ferry 1 1906 built by Polson Iron Works Limited
Trillium ferry 1 1910 built by Polson Iron Works Limited
Kwasind passenger ferry 1 1913 built by Polson Iron Works Limited for RCYC
William Inglis ferry 1 1935 by Toronto Drydock Company
Sam McBride ferry 1 1939 by Toronto Drydock Company
Duke of York schooner 1 1820 built by Capt. Hadley
City of Toronto wood ship 1 1855 built for Allan Lines

See also

References