Toronto Ferry Company

To the left of the Hanlan Hotel, you can see the Doty Ferry Company docks, on the Toronto Island

People waiting for the ferry at the Doty Company Ferry docks at Hanlan's Point, circa 1885-95, by F.W. Micklethwaite

The Toronto Ferry Company was formed from the merge of John Doty Engine & Ferry Company with A.J. Tymon's Island Ferry Company, two of Toronto's early ferry operators to Toronto Islands in 1890. TFC was founded and headed by businessman Lol Solman. The company's ferry license and ships was later acquired by the Toronto Transportation Commission in 1927.

A.J. Tymon's Island Ferry Company

Captain Andrew J. Tymon (1844-?) operated a number ferries from 1880 until the formation of his own service in the mid-1880s. It later merged with John Doty (1822-1902) Doty Machine and Engine Works's company to form TFC in 1892.

Vessels included:

S.S. Arlington
S.S. Prince of Wales
S.S. Jessie L. McEdwards (1882)
S.S. Theresa (burned 1885)
S.S. Gertrude
S.S. Island Queen
S.S. Truant
S.S. Kathleen

John Doty Engine Company

John Doty was an American born Toronto industrialist who built his empire from a small machine shop to eventually operating a shipbuilding and ferry service to Toronto Island in the late 19th Century. Doty was born in 1822 in Lewiston, New York and had lineage to settlers abord the Mayflower. He moved to Niagara Falls, New York then to around the Golden Horseshoe before settling in Toronto to start his empire. He acquired the Dickey, Neill and Co. Soho Foundry on Bathurst and Front to begin his Doty Machine Works in 1883. By 1889 he began to manufacture engines and shipbuilding in 1891. In 1880 he also began his John Doty Ferry Company with the purchase of the assets of the Turner Ferry Company and merged with A.J. Tymon to form Toronto Ferry Company in 1890. In 1892 Doyt retired from his business and moved to Godreich, Ontario where he died in 1902.

John Doty began as a builder of ship engines and gradually as an operator of ferry service to the Island. The company was located at Front and Bathurst Streets in a building now occupied by Sherwin-Williams paint store.

A list of engines built by John Doty:

high pressure steam engine for screw steamer Mascotte 1886
steam engine for screw steamer Jessie L. McEdwards 1876
engine for steamer Luella 1876
engine for steamer Sadie 1885
ferry and engines - Mayflower and Primrose 1890
two secondhand Doty compound steam engines would be installed in RMS Segwun during a 1925 conversion

The John Doty Engine Works and shipyard would be sold in 1892 due to financial troubles; the facility operated until 1905 under George and John Bertram as the Bertram Engine Works.^[1]

Docks

Doty Ferry Company docks at Hanlan's Point
Bay Street Ferry docks, now called the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal

Fleet

A list of ships operated by the TFC:

**Product list and details**
Make/Model	Description	# passengers	Year acquired	Year retired	Notes
* Mayflower - built by Bathurst Street Wharf for John Doty Engine & Ferry Company	ferry	900-1000	1890	1938	Later acquired from the Toronto Ferry Company by E.B. Osler (with acquisition of John Doty Engine & Ferry Company and Tymon's Island Ferry Company; became city garbage scow
Primrose built by Bathurst Street Wharf for John Doty Engine & Ferry Company	ferry	900-1000	1890	1938	sister ship to the Mayflower and later acquired from the Toronto Ferry Company
Bluebell - built by Polson Iron Works Limited for Toronto Ferry Company	ferry	N/A	1906	1955
Trillium 1910-1957 - built by Polson Iron Works Limited for Toronto Ferry Company	ferry	N/A	1910; 1976	1957	re-enter service 1976 with Metro Parks
Luella - built by W. Armour & Company and John Doty Engine Company for Toronto Ferry Company	ferry	122	1882	1934
Sadie - built as St. Jean Baptiste for the Turner Ferry Co. by James Andrew of Oakville	double-decked paddle vessel - 112 feet	377	1885	?
Canadian - built for the Turner Ferry Co. by Alexander Clindinning of Toronto	two-decked, double-ended pad-die steamer - 122 feet	340	1882	?
Prouvette Beyer - built for the Turner Ferry Co.	ferry		1882	?
Arlington - built for the A.J. Tymon Ferry Co. in Harwood	single deck screw steamer	100	1878, 1880	?
Jessie McEdwards - built for the A.J. Tymon Ferry Co. by Melancthon Simpson of St. Catharines	single deck screw steamer - 65 feet	116	1876	?
Kathleen - built for the A.J. Tymon Ferry Co. by George Dickson of Toronto	two-decked screw steamer - 84 feet	200	1886	1918
Gertrude - built for the A.J. Tymon Ferry Co. by George Clean of Toronto	two-decked screw steamer - 75 feet	147	1886	?
Island Queen - built for the A.J. Tymon Ferry Co. - Joseph Duval at Port Dalhousie	single-decked screw steamer - 73 feet	148	1882	1918
Ned Hanlan - built for the A.J. Tymon Ferry Co.	ferry		1902	1966
T.J. Clark	ferry		1918	1960
Miss Simcoe	ferry		1918	1929
Lady York	ferry		1918	1929
Aylmer	ferry		1918	1929
Buttercup	ferry		1918	1929
Jasmine	ferry		1918	1929	later renamed Ojibway
Clark Brothers	ferry		1918	1927
John Hanlan - built by John & James Abbey/Abbey Brothers Shipyards of Port Dalhousie	screw steamer	~100	1844	1929	burned and sunk off Sunnyside Park 1929

References

↑ Dave LeBlanc (July 19, 2011). "Condo dwellers: Do you know your area's history?". Globe and Mail. , citing Nathan Ng.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, November 24, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.