Industrial site.
Details of Site Location: At Little Front Street (now Mill Street) on the south side of East Street (now Water Street).
Boundary History: The site occupied a block extending as far as Cherry Street covering several acres.
Current Use of Property: The main site is wasteland today.
Historical Description: Established in 1857, the principal proprietor was Casimir Gzowski. All of the railway companies purchased their iron rails from Toronto Rolling Mills. There were many employees in the early years, mostly residents of the Corktown area. George Brown toured the works and wrote several articles about them in 1850 to 1860. By 1867, the mills had a staff of 300 men producing 20,000 tons of rails annually, beating out competitors. A number of workshops were built as the plant expanded. Entire families found employment at the mills, such as the Gustin family: John was a Superintendent, Andrew J. was Assistant Superintendent, Charles was a carpenter, and John S. was a mill worker. All of these people, according to the City Directories, were living at different addresses in 1866. The Bessemer process arrived in Canada in the 1870s, followed by the 1873 depression. The demand for iron rails fell off, but the Rolling Mills, unlike other foundries, did not convert to steel production. In 1874, the mills closed down and the buildings were torn down. For some time, the site was used by the Grand Trunk Railway as a freight yard.
Relative Importance: Casimir Gzowski, an engineer, had many interests in the railways, and built his fortune on serving these interests. He was knighted for his work. The site is important on his account and because it gave employment to the poor people living in Corktown, who were mostly Irish immigrants with few skills fleeing to Toronto in the hope of finding a place in the world.
Planning Implications: The site deserves marking eventually, but only after a massive soil remediation effort has been completed – one that is closely monitored by archaeolo-gists. The plaque should commemorate both the large staff of the mills and Gzowski himself.
Reference Sources: Miles’ Atlas 1878; City of Toronto Archives; Toronto Reference Library.
Acknowledgements: Maps Project; Ontario Society for Industrial Archaeology.