The Beginning of a Partnership

Dundas & Flavelle Bros. at the corner of Kent and York Streets with a wooden verandah, common among Kent Street businesses. 1892.

William and J. D. started their business ventures with the creation of Dundas & Flavelle Bros. The firm sold clothing, millinery, carpets and home furnishings. Taking note of local demand for imported items from England and Germany as well as ready-to-wear garments, under William’s management, the firm began expanding their exports of butter, eggs and chickens to pay for bulk clothing.

Dundas & Flavelle Bros. after renovations to an awning in the spring of 1894. 1894.

Dundas & Flavelle Bros. quickly gained success in Victoria County, and the business soon outgrew its original storefront. Word about Dundas & Flavelle Bros. spread quickly in the farming community around Victoria County to the point where the basement cellar in the dry goods store was packed floor to ceiling with butter and eggs. By 1885, this arrangement was starting to prove untenable and the product began to spoil. The brothers expanded their small operation and built an independent cold storage facility for eggs and dairy. Construction quickly began along the banks of the Scugog River on King Street, east of their grain elevator.

Dundas & Flavelle Bros. advertising rule. ca. 1900-1904.