Polson Iron Works Limited Explained

Polson Iron Works Limited
Fate:Ceased operations
Predecessor:William Polson and Company c. 1883
Foundation:1886
Founder:William Polson
Franklin Bates Polson
Defunct:1919
Location City:Toronto/Owen Sound, Ontario
Location Country:Canada
Location:Toronto 1886–1888 and 1893–1919, Owen Sound 1888–1893
Locations:Toronto, Owen Sound
Area Served:Canada
Key People:William Polson – co-founder, Franklin Bates Polson – co-founder
Industry:Shipbuilding
Products:Ferries

The Polson Iron Works was an Ontario-based firm which built large steam engines, as well as ships, barges and dredges.[1]

Founded by William Polson (1834–1901) and son Franklin Bates Polson, the firm was incorporated in 1886 and it was one of the original shipyards operating in Toronto.

In 1888 favourable land grants prompted the company to move to Owen Sound, which was then an important port for Canadian Pacific's steamships. Owen Sound facility was at the then existing dry docks on the west side of the harbour near the south end of what is now the West Side Boat Launch on 14th Avenue West.[2]

The firm eventually returned to Toronto in 1897 when Owen Sound's town council did not renew the firm's exemption from property taxes. In Toronto the company's ship yard was located on the harbourfront at the foot of Sherbourne Street (south west at The Esplanade where David Crombie Park and hydro substation now occupies). In 1914 the company agreed to lease land from the Toronto Harbour Commission to build a new facility in the newly reclaimed Portlands industrial district, but the outbreak of World War I prevented the move.

Some of the vessels constructed by the Polson Iron Works remain in service today. They include, and .[3]

The engines and hull of Bonnington, a steamboat that ran on the Arrow Lakes from 1911 to 1931, were built at the Polson Iron Works, and shipped by rail to British Columbia.[4]

The company ceased operations around 1919,[5] but the name lives on in Polson Pier, where the company had intended to relocate the shipyard.

Ships built

Polson was a builder of motor yachts for the wealthy in Toronto during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Ships built before 1888 and after 1897 would have been built in Toronto with the rest at their Owen Sound shipyard.

List of ships built:[6]

Motor yachts

Tugs

Ferries

Passenger vessels

Train ferries

Patrol boats

Others

Naval vessels

Cargo vessels

Aircraft

In 1916 Polson Iron Works was involved in the production of the M.F.P Tractor Biplane for MFP Company owned by J.B. Miller, Walter L. Fairchild and Walter H. Phipps.[8] The plane was designed by Walter H. Phipps, owner of Steel Constructed Aeroplanes Co of New York. Fairchild was a monoplane pioneer from Hempstead Plains, New York.

Notes and References

  1. News: Polson, Franklin Bates. Dictionary of Canadian Biography. 22 March 2012. The steady advancement of the business led to its incorporation on 23 Oct. 1886 as the Polson Iron Works Company of Toronto Limited, with William as president and Franklin as secretary-treasurer.. Michael B. Moir.
  2. Web site: Polson, Franklin Bates .
  3. News: Nautical History . . 2003 . 21 December 2011 . The Iron Works only two existing ships in Toronto are the Trillium (built in 1913, which still ferry's passengers to Centre Island) and the RCYC passenger ferry Kwasind (1913). . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120207162607/http://www.saveontarioshipwrecks.on.ca/Chapters/toronto/nautical.htm . 7 February 2012.
  4. Book: 9781550390896. Sternwheelers and Steam Tugs – An Illustrated History of the Canadian Pacific Railway's British Columbia Lake and River Service. . 1998. 22 March 2012. Robert D. Turner.
  5. Web site: Polson Iron Works Timeline . polsonironworks.ca . 2012 . 2 June 2014.
  6. Web site: List of Ships Built . polsonironworks.com . 2014 . 2 June 2014.
  7. Web site: Polson Iron Works . shipbuildinghistory.com . 15 August 2022.
  8. Web site: Polson Iron Works - M.F.P. Tractor Biplane, 1916.

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