Industrial heritage site.

Details of Site Location: On the dock side of the Esplanade at the foot of Sherbourne Street, west of the slip beside the Sherbourne Street Dock.

Boundary History: The Polson Works existed on a dock or platform with buildings flanked on the east and west sides by slips for boats, on the south side by harbour waters, and on the north by railway tracks.

Current Use of Property: Today, the site is buried in landfill.

Historical Description: The Polson Ironworks has a very special place in the hearts of Torontonians, due mainly to their affection for the boats built there. William Polson and his son F.B. Polson began the works in 1886. The company built marine engines, boilers, vertical hoisting engines, and the famous Brown Automatic Engine. The Polsons had a shipbuilding yard at Owen Sound that supplied them with steel hulls. They produced the Manitoba, the first steel steamship built in Canada, launched in 1889. They produced dredges, ferries, launches, and sandsuckers. They produced the first home-built steam warship, Vigilant. But it was the Segwun, the Trillium ferryboat, and the fabulous Knapp’s Roller Boat that endear the Polson Ironworks to Toronto. Having begun their company in 1883 by purchasing a bankrupt firm, the Poisons found themselves caught in the depression of the 1890s. The ironworks closed down in 1919, but some of its ironwork may still be seen on ferries.

Relative Importance: The importance of Polson Ironworks is generally acknowledged with affection and should continue to be remembered in this light.

Planning Implications: The site was covered by dredged material and other landfill and must be regarded as a potentially major archaeological site, particularly because Knapp’s Roller Boat was buried in the slip along with the remains of the ironworks. Plans should be laid for full archaeological investigation before any redevelopment takes place on the site. A memorial of the Polsons and some of their ships should be made at the site.

Reference Sources:  Goad’s Atlas  (1884, 1890, 1910); G. Mercer Adams, Toronto Old and New (1891).

Acknowledgements: Ontario Society for Industrial Archaeology; Maps Project.