The Barber Mills, Barberton and the Barber Brothers
By Matthew Wilkinson


Background on the Mill-site and Barberton

The lazy course of the Credit River today belies its importance to the early development of Peel County. The establishment of mills, particularly saw and grist mills, often marked the beginning of a community and provided the impetus for growth. Mills fulfilled a practical need in the life of early settlers as places to grind grain, cut wood, or weave cloth. By 1851, approximately 60 mills were operating along the Credit River and by 1859, 10 of these were woollen or textile mills.
The most significant of these textile manufacturers was the Barber brothers’ mill near Streetsville. The Barber brothers, who also owned a large mill in Georgetown, expanded their operation in 1843 when they purchased William Comfort’s mill-site and farm. (William J. Comfort had purchased this five-acre site on the north edge of Lot 1 Concession 4, just south of Streetsville, in 1826. He had a grist mill in operation within a year.) In 1852, the Barbers built a large four-storey stone woollen mill, which burned in 1861. Three months later the mill was rebuilt and back into production. Due to the early success of the Streetsville mill, the site continued to expand and by 1865 included several additional buildings. The mill complex, known as the Toronto Woollen Mills, produced 1000 yards of cloth daily and employed 100 people. By 1870, the mill was the fourth largest textile mill in Ontario.

A small community began to develop around the mill site, called Barberton. Barberton never gained village status on its own, but it grew steadily. The Barbers built 43 buildings for mill workers and their families. Some of the workers were imported from Scotland as skilled weavers (John Rutledge was one). Most of the workers lived in close proximity to the mill. Entire families often relied on the mill for their income and livelihood. (In many cases, members of an entire family were employed in the mill.) Barney McCusker operated the blacksmith shop and Augustus Redding ran a tailor shop, employing fifteen seamstresses. Mr. J.G. Owens operated the two-storey general store (presently the company office). The chief teamster, Henry Hetherington, made two trips a day to Port Credit with finished goods and returned with raw materials. Moses and Mary Strong ran a boarding house where weekly dances were held. Barberton also had a recreation area and a cricket field. (As a side note to early life in the village and to working conditions at the mill is the introduction of a tea break. One of their employees, Hannah Clegg, took her teapot to work one morning, and made tea at 10 a.m., having already worked from 6:30 a.m. When the Barbers protested, all the women went on strike. The Barbers gave in, and from then on, a tea break at 10 a.m. became a ritual.)

William and Robert Barber (the only two of the four Barbers to reside in the area) and Bennet Franklin, their partner and brother-in-law, had large homes built for them. William and Robert practiced different religions (due to a split in the Methodist Church in Georgetown). William, a Methodist, and Robert, a Presbyterian, each contributed significant time and resources to their respective denominations, and helped raise funds for the construction of separate churches in Streetsville. They were also very active in local economic and political circles. William and Robert operated the woollen mill while Bennet managed the sawmill.

As the fortunes of the Barbers’ declined, the small community that had grown around the mill became deserted, leaving only the ghosts of the once-busy mill village behind. William’s home, built circa 1862, remains on the corner of Mississauga Road and Barbertown Road as the Old Barber House Restaurant. Robert and Bennet’s houses on Barbertown Road are now gone as are most of the original 43 buildings. Only two workers’ houses survive. The old mill bridge (circa 1898), Barbertown Road, and the quiet recreation area are but a reflection of this once vibrant little community, and the mill’s importance to early workers and their families.

The Factory Owners

The Joseph Barber family (along with sons William, James, Joseph Jr., and Robert) immigrated to Canada from Ireland in 1822. They brothers established themselves by working in James Crooks’ industrial complex at Crooks Hollow, near Dundas. They apprenticed to various trades associated with milling and industrial factories. (William and Robert, the oldest and youngest, worked at and later leased the woollen mill; James worked at the paper mill, and Joseph Jr. became a millwright and foundry worker.) In 1835, the brothers began a custom-carding mill in Georgetown, and in 1837 they collectively purchased George Kennedy’s woollen mill at Georgetown on the Credit River. The Barber brothers are acknowledged with being true pioneers of the industrial factory system in Canada West (Ontario).

Encouraged by their early success and increased business, in 1843 the Barbers purchased William Comfort’s farm and mill-site, south of Streetsville. This land gave them control over both sides of the river to the Base Line (today’s Eglinton Avenue). There was no bridge crossing the Credit River at the Base Line; it ended at the river’s east bank. Barbertown Road wound its way down through the mill-site from the Base Line, crossed the river, and met the Streetsville Road (today’s Mississauga Road) on the west side of the river. By 1850, the Barber’s Georgetown mill was becoming overcrowded with machinery and the waterpower was insufficient to continue the full operation. A new, larger mill was built here in 1851, incorporating machinery from the two smaller mills, a new power-loom and the first Jacquard Loom in North America (which they built themselves).

The syndicate of ‘William Barber & Brothers’ owned everything in common without any deed of partnership, or any division of profits, with each one drawing according to his requirements. Joseph Barber Jr. and Bennet Franklin retired in 1869 (Bennet purchased the Franklin House in Streetsville). James bought the Georgetown mill, which he continued to run with his three sons. William and Robert continued the woollen operation. The Toronto Woollen Mills flourished for another decade, but by the early 1880’s, the business began to falter following lifting of the cotton embargo after American Civil War. The business went into receivership in 1882, and the Canadian Bank of Commerce took over the property.

After 1887, several companies intermittently attempted to run the textile operation, notably the Streetsville Woollen Company and Oriental Textiles Limited, which proved to be unsuccessful short-term ventures. Oriental Textiles supplied plush for railway cars. Shortly after the outbreak of World War One, the mill was purchased by the Toronto Milling Company and converted to flour production. W.H. McCarthy purchased the flour operation from Sterling Milling Company in 1931. When McCarthy Milling began operation it was the largest water-powered mill in Ontario. In 1946 Mr. J.J. Page bought control of the mill and offered public shares in the company for the first time. Mr. C.L. Rogers purchased control of McCarthy Milling and operated the mill from 1960 until 1972, when George Weston Limited purchased the site. ADM Milling (Archer-Daniels-Midland) acquired control of the mill in 1991 and the four-storey structure continues to operate (manufacturing flour) today.

Technical & Factory Information

The four-storey mill was built of stone following the fire of 1861. The stone is now concealed beneath modern stucco and siding. Connected to the main structure was the warping room, the mule room, the dye house, the boiler house, the dry room and the wool house (where the incoming wool was stored and sorted). Raw wool was first taken through the pickers and dusters, then scoured, washed and dried. The wool was mechanically hoisted to the card-room on the top storey of the main building (there were eight sets of cards, comprising twenty-four machines). After the wool was carded, it was taken to the spinning room on the third floor (which contained seven jacks, two mules, a double and twister). After being spun into yarn, it was taken to the weaving room on the second floor where workers would have been busily engaged in weaving the yarn into all kinds of Canadian tweeds and fabrics. The cloth was then taken to the finishing room on the first floor where it was washed, scoured, examined, finished, filled and sent to the dye house. The product was then ready to be shipped to market. This was an early example of a ready-to-wear factory, where raw wool could be dropped off and picked up as a finished product as there was also a tailor shop next to the mill.

The dam, located a short distance upstream, created the millpond. The millpond fed water to the mill race (head race), powering the overshot wheel, and rejoining the river via the tail race. The depth of the tail race and long distance proportional to the head race ensured the rapid evacuation of incoming water that enabled the maximum fall of water over the mill wheel, thus not impeding or slowing the motion of the mill wheel. The system of machinery was driven by an overshot wheel that was 16 feet in diameter, with a fall of twenty feet (the distance in water levels between incoming water in the mill race and the outgoing water in the tail race). The overshot wheel was powered by a head of water striking the wheel just forward of the vertical centre of its highest point of rotation. This caused the water wheel to revolve in the same direction as the flow of water.

The water wheel was the only source of power available before steam power became practical. It produced 20-horse power. The mill complex was lit by gas manufactured on the premises. Steam pipes heated the main building, and after the fire of 1861 it had a complete system of water works (each floor could be flooded with water in five minutes, by means of a force pump). The mill continued to adapt to the changing times; water and steam power was discontinued in favor of electricity after the dam washed out in 1974.

The mill complex and small village also included a machine shop, a blacksmith shop, a carpenter’s shop, a brickyard, a company store, a tailor shop, a cooper, Bennet Franklin’s sawmill and the Barber brothers’ Toronto Woollen Mills.

Conclusion: The Legacy

It can be argued that the success of any enterprise cannot be solely based on the perseverance and aptitude of the proprietors, managers and workers. To a certain extent, good fortune and location were also key elements of survival and profitability, including close proximity to raw materials, to ports and railways, to markets, and to a natural source of available power.

The success of the mill-site attracted like-minded entrepreneurs who addressed the needs of the fledgling village that was beginning to develop around the mill. The mill workers, attracted by employment and opportunity, also found the site ideal for locating their families. Despite the success and growth around it, at the core of this prosperity was the mill. Barberton had a tenuous existence of relying on the profitability of the mill to survive.

The keys to the survival and continuing use of this site are its functionality and adaptability. The legacy of William Comfort (who was jailed for aiding William Lyon Mackenzie following the failed Rebellion of 1837) and the Barber brothers was to have chosen and built on a site that continues to survive well into its third century. The Credit River allowed for the development of early industry on this site, fulfilling the needs of settlers as a practical place of service and employment. With the changing times, the site remains remarkable in its continuing ability to provide service and employment. After many successive owners, changes in technology and changes in product, the mill-site remains the true legacy: a site well chosen to suit the changing needs of the people relying upon it. The mill still stands as a functioning element of modern industry. It would, perhaps, make the Barber brothers proud.