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Home My WebLink AboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-04-19, Page 7Wednesday, April 19, 2017 • Signal Star 7 The Doty Eng"ii The Doty Engine Works was the most unique of the early Goderich industries. As the name implies, the company built a variety of engines but they also pro- duced a wide array of spe- cialized heavy machinery ranging from boilers, pile drivers to artillery shells. In 1901, Frederick W. Doty became manager of the Goderich Engine Com- pany on Cambria and East streets. According to that year's census, the American born Doty was a 48 -year-old 'machinist.' He was married with six children and an aged father, John Doty. The family bought the abandoned Methodist Church on Brock Street. Frederick Doty had at 16 years old "apprenticed with his father, John, at the Doty Works in Oakville and Ham- ilton" and was an engineer before arriving in Goderich. When John Doty died in Toronto in October 1901, the 'Mail and Empire' called him a once 'prominent member of the city's business frater- nity." His son, F.W. Doty, took a lead in Goderich com- mercial and civic affairs. In 1902, he told James Mitchell, editor of the 'Goderich Star' that the town needed "a place which would prove attractive to the young men and keep them off the streets:' Doty told Mitchell that with the lack of recreation he had "difficulty in getting workmen to come" to Goderich. In 1904, F.W. Doty pur- chased the property on Brock Street. Within two years, the plant expanded to include all the property from Brock to Newgate streets along Victo- ria Street The new firm was known as the Doty Engine Works Company. In August 1904, 'The Wing - ham Times' reported that, "the machinery for the Doty Engine Works is nearly all in position" and should begin operations within the week. The 'Times' further pre- dicted that the engine works would "rank among the chief industries of Goderich." The Doty works were an Huron History David Yates e Works extensive operation, which included a foundry, pattern room, blacksmith forges, and machine shops. William Barlow in 'Links to the Past' said the works were "one of the best equipped" plants "in Southwestern Ontario." One casting ladle could carry as much as 10 tons of molten metal. By 1905, the engine works was in full production manu- facturing an array of heavy machinery that included log- ging machines, snowplow engines and railway cranes. They also produced the hoisting winches used in the construction of the Detroit tunnel. Doty's even built a pile driver for the Toronto harbour that could drive five posts at once. However, the mainstay of the Doty works was the manufacture of marine engines. A lot of their machinery was destined for Canada's northwest. The company built engines for 'Alligator tugs' that hauled logs through the waterways of British Columbian's interior. They were called Alligator tugs because they could traverse overland short dis- tances with the help of pow- erful steam winches. The Hudson Bay Company pur- chased Doty engines for their boats on Lake Seul in northern Ontario. In July 1906, the 'Toronto Globe' carried a picture "an immense marine boiler" made in the Goderich Doty works bound for Athabasca Landing north of Edmonton. Fred Doty reported to the Goderich Board of Trade in February 1906 that in the company's first full year of operation, it had sold S66,000 in machinery and paid out to 30 workers S18,000 in wages with the promise of a better year ahead. In November 1907, Doty approached the town coun- cil for a loan of 535,000 to expand the plant. Doty explained the need to expand the works to include a manufactory for "boilers, structural steelwork and steel steamers. In exchange for the loan at 5% interest payable in 20 annual installments, the town would hold the first mortgage on the plant as security. Doty promised employment for 100 'mechanics: The 'Signal' endorsed the proposition by arguing that the Doty works were not "a new and untried concern" but a 'well-estab- lished' firm "doing a large and growing business." The ratepayers agreed and voted to approve the loan. In January 1908, Doty pur- chased the property on the corner of Oxford and Mait- land Street. Construction on the new building started immediately (the building is now part of the Sifto Evapo- rator Plant). By March, the engine works accepted an order from the Dominion govern- ment for a marine boiler, engine and 'outfit' for a steamer on Lake Winnipeg. Other orders flowed in for such machines as engines for two side -wheel steamers for the Grand Trunk; engines and boilers for tugs under construction in Collingwood and a new boiler for the town's fire engine. Business was good that Fred Doty became one of the first automobile owners in town. An auto excursion to Sheppardton in April 1908 was worthy of mention in the local papers. According to Barlow, the Doty Engine Works reached their production peak in 1910 employing about 80 workers. Yet, a series of personal trage- dies and financial setbacks overtook the Dotyworks. In April 1911, Mary Doty, Fred's wife of 34 years, died at their Brock street home. In sympathy, the Doty employ- ees marched behind the cas- ket to the GTR station where her remains were removed to Oakville for burial. A lack of new orders forced the Bank of Montreal to take the Doty works to court in December 1911 to recover S96,000 in loans. A restruc- turing of the company saved Doty Engine built for fishing tug 'Elgin E' (1908) it from collapse and the name was changed to the Doty Marine Engine and Boiler Works. Fred Doty died 'unexpectedly' in March 1912. His son, John Doty, 'an eminent engineer' who, among other projects, had helped construct New York's Woolworth Building, became the company's president. Despite the setbacks, morale amongst company workers was still high. In August 1912, at the annual Doty picnic, fifty employees paraded around the Square behind a band and then 'drove' to Black's Point where an 'enjoyable day' of games was had. Races, tug-of-war and a baseball game between the machine hands and the fit- ters were played; Fred Doty Jr was the umpire. "Ihe Great War should have helped the company. On July 29th, 1915, the 'Sig- nal' announced that the Doty works received a sub- stantial contract for 10,000 60 pound artillery shells. However, no other gov- ernment orders followed. Without any government orders, the Munitions Board would not allot iron as every scrap was needed for the war effort. In April 1916, the Doty works went idle. In July, the town tried and failed to get an injunction to prevent the removal of factory machin- ery but a judge ruled that machinery required for the production of shells could be removed. The Doty Marine and Engine Works were dissolved. In what the 'Signal' called a "another loss to Goderich, it was reported in November that the Doty family whom the paper called 'excellent citizens' had moved to Toronto. One son, Frank Doty, had even volunteered with the Photo courtesy of Huron County Museum 161st (Huron) battalion and was serving overseas. One of the town's major concerns with the plant's closing was the "non - employment of a large num- ber of skilled men in town." In March 1917, the Victoria street property was sold to the National Ship Building Company, which attempted to produce marine engines for the war effort Undoubtedly, many of the skilled mechanics and machinists found employ- ment at the Dominion Roads plant. It is hard to imagine that one of the town's main industries, Dominion Roads, would have been able to prosper without the skilled tradesmen from the Doty Engine Works. (More information on the Doty Engine Works can be found at: http://www.blurb. ca/b/7100387-the-dotys- came-over-on-the-mayflower)