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Goderich Signal Star, 2017-03-22, Page 7Wednesday, March 22, 2017 • Signal Star 7 The Kensington Furniture Company, 1896-1913 In January 1896, the 'Huron Signal' announced that the Kensington Furniture Factory was corning to Goderich. When it began operations in August 1896, the furniture com- pany was the sixth manu- facturing plant to estab- lish itself in town since 1889. At its peak of pro- duction, the Kensington Furniture Company employed 70-80 hands working 12 hours shifts to keep up with the demand for Goderich made furni- ture throughout North America and beyond. The Kensington Furni- ture Company was lured to Goderich from London, according to 'A Souvenir of Goderish,' an 1897 promo- tional booklet for the town, because of the easy availa- bility of cheap wood. Wil- liam Barlow in 'Links to the Past' describes the Kens- ington's location as situated on the southeast comer of Britannia and Maitland Roads across from the Grand Trunk Railway line. By 1897, the `Souvenir of Goderich' reported that the Kensington Furniture Company's plant occupied three acres of land, employed 75 tradesmen and shipped furniture "by carload lots all over the Dominion:' In September 1897, the G.T.R shipped a forty foot car of Kensington Furniture factory to British Columbia. It was the larg- est rail carload ever Huron History David Yates shipped out of Goderich. In March 1899, Frederick Rumball of London bought the Goderich Kensington Company. Rumball and his son, John, ran the com- pany for the remainder of its operation. Rumball approached the Goderich council for a $10,000 twelve year loan from the town. Municipal loans to pri- vate companies were seen as `progressive' thinking in helping towns attract industry. Any pub- lic loan had to be voted upon by Goderich rate- payers who approved the Kensington Furniture Company's request in September. The only diffi- culty was that loan repay- ment never seems to have been a priority with local factory owners who, no matter how successful their business, were reluctant to re -pay their town loans. Yet, the benefits to the local shops, housing and lumber industry, shops were undeniable. The Kensington expanded its line to include bedroom and dining rooms suites, rocking chairs, side- boards, extension tables and other household furnishings. The Kensington donated furniture to the new Alex- andra and Marine Hospi- tal and other community projects. In 1902, Kens- ington appointed Rhynas and Cornell, a furniture and undertaking business located on the Square, as their official retail store. Customers were asked to stop by and meet `Pris- cilla' who would show off the store's 'fine display' of Kensington furniture. In 1902, it was reported that orders for Kensing- ton furniture were "far ahead of the output'; but the failure of the railroad to deliver the needed lumber forced the com- pany to cut shifts from ten to eight hours a day. The slow down was only tem- porary because the Kens- ington reported to the Board of Trade that the company had paid out about $45,000 in wages in 1905 with an average work force of 40 hands and looked "forward to a record year." A fire in September 1906 which "did consid- erable damage" forced a factory shut down. Whether it was a ploy to cover the fire damage or a sincere attempt to expand the factory, owner Fred RumbalI approached town council in Decem- ber for a $25,000 loan to be repaid over 20 years at 4.5% interest. Rumball proposed to expand the Canada has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world. Multiple 1 vSociety of Canada ana te cdi anadienne de la sclerose en plaques 1-800-268-7582 www.mssociety.ca plant and double the workforce to 100 workers. Even though the Kens- ington vas in arrears of its 1899 loan payments, the town was asked to 'vote for progress' and approve the loan. In exchange, the town held the company's assets and insurance policies as security. The `Signal' argued the `obvious. advantages' to the town by way of greater employ- ment opportunities, an expanded tax base and "a stimulus to business of all kinds." Rumball assured voters that the Kensing- ton "will live up to its agreement." With high hopes for its future pros- perity, Goderich ratepay- ers, once again, voted for the loan in January 1907. In September, the expansion to the Kens- ington was completed. Five buildings contained over 45,000 square feet of floor space and, by 1908, employed one hundred skilled tradesmen turning out "first class medium priced" goods. The `Sig- nal' described the brick building as a "thorough, up-to-date" plant which doubled the factory's size and placed the Kensing- ton "among the largest furniture manufacturers in Canada" .and, perhaps, the town's largest employer. In the boom years from 1908 to 1913, the Kensington employed 80-100 hands working 12.5 hours a day. Despite its booming business, by November 1907, the Kensington dragged its feet in signing its insurance policies over to the town. Rumball, in March 1908, was called before council to explain the Kensington's 'past due' loan repayments. Town council was informed in September 1909 that on the $10,000 loan advanced to the Kensington in 1899 only $4,000 had been repaid and on the 1907 loan for $25,000, the company had not repaid anything. In early 1911, the town threatened to take out an insurance policy and charge it to the company because the company's policy was deemed `inade- quate.' The town insurance policy was purchased in the nick of time because a dev- astating evastating fire in April caused $50-70,000 in damage. For- tunately, the machine rooms were saved but some company operations were temporarily dispersed through the town and lim- ited production resumed by month's end. Rumball asked the town to sign over insur- ance payments to him to rebuild the Kensington factory. The town com- plied and, to Rumball's credit, the damaged Kensington factory build- ings were rebuilt. By October 1912, it seemed the Kensington Furniture Company had rebounded. The 'Signal' reported that carloads of furniture were shipped to Calgary and Winnipeg. Once again, tragedy struck the Kensington. At 2 a.m., on August 21, 1913, a G.T.R engine whistle blast signalled the alarm that flames were spotted at the Kensington fac- tory. Within an hour, "the whole factor was in ruins." Southerly winds fanned the flames through the entire plant area which by daylight had turned the complex into smouldering ruins. The 'Signal' placed the loss at about $100,00 with only $75,000 of the company insured. The Kensington fire was the first in a series of industrial fires that turned the eastern edge of town into a disaster area. In 1918, the ruins of the Bae- chler factory, Dietrich Gristmill, boiler factory and Kensington buildings prompted one railway man to say that Goderich looked like "some town in the war zone that has been heavily damaged." Although the Rumball family initially hoped to rebuild their burned fac- tory, by November, the town took possession of the Kensington's ashes. As late as 1930, the town was still trying to settle the Kensington Furniture Company account. It was a tragic end to one of Goderich's most promis- ing industries. Because you love your MedicAlert®.The bracelet with an emergency hotline linked to your medical record. 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