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This exhibit shows the transition of a factory from 1848 to 2013. The original factory was built by Daniel Massey in 1848 at the south-west corner of Beaver and King in Newcastle, Ontario. Here, he started what eventually became the largest agricultural equipment business in Canada, Massey Manufacturing. In 1879, the factory closed and Massey Manufacturing moved to Toronto. This company eventually evolved into Massey Harris. The factory sat vacant for a number of years until 1916 when James Anderson Smith, a cabinet maker, purchased the factory and began building wooden ammunition cases for the First World War effort. After the war, Smith used the equipment there to build wooden jewelry and silverware cases. Over the years the factory grew and in 1939 a large addition was built onto the south portion of the original buildings. By the 1960s there were well over 100 full-time employees working there. The factory continued to be owned by the same family until it closed in 1990. At this time, with the Free Trade Agreement, the owners found that they could not compete with the jewelry and silverware cases brought in from “off-shore”. As well, there were other factories in the area that were hiring and paying much larger salaries so there was a constant turn-over of employees. Again, the factory sat empty for a number of years until the property was purchased by the Gylatsen Family and a new grocery store was built. Later, the former JASCO factory was completely restored into 16 residential apartments and 4 commercial business units.
Through old photographs, line drawings and films, we show how a factory built in 1848 went through a series of transitions to present day use. The movie and photos show how the local manufacturing industry changed along with the Village of Newcastle over the years and how it evolved into a useful and attractive building.
