Native & Early Settlement | Agriculture | The Railway | Industry | Tourism

Industry

The arrival of the train system in Perth County contributed to the success of the furniture industry in Stratford, Milverton and Listowel. In 1928, Stratford produced 1/6 of the furniture in Canada. By the 1960s the furniture industry declined and many of these affluent businesses closed.
St Marys is known as the stone town because many of its buildings are constructed in limestone. Early quarries mined and produced the stone before 1900 but in 1912 St. Marys Cement started and continues to be a main industry today.

During the 1930s and 1940s-1960s, the Stratford Industrial Commission began efforts for attracting new industry to the city. Although not very fruitful in the depression years, the commission attracted a number of automotive factories to the city in the 1950s and the 1960s, as well as other industry. FAG , formerly Fischer Bearings, celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2004 and is one of the larger employers in Stratford.

Similar efforts in the smaller towns also brought in a few new industries, sometimes in competition with Stratford. Listowel established an image as “car city” promoting the number of large automobile retailers in the town to attract customers. Other important industries in Listowel included woolen mills. Spinrite celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2002 but had operated as a mill since 1914. Campbell Soups opened in Listowel in the 1960s creating a major employer to the area.

Native & Early Settlement | Agriculture | The Railway | Industry | Tourism