Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Bench |
Title |
BT Tub Bench |
Date |
1923 |
Place of Origin |
Fergus/Ontario/Canada |
Description |
A wood and metal Beatty Bros. Ltd. workbench. Stenciled on the bench is, "BT Tub Bench Patented 1923". The bench was originally painted green and it has four wheels for easy maneuverability. |
History |
This Beatty Bros. Ltd. wash tub bench was made by the Beatty Bros. Limited company. In 1874, brothers George and Matthew Beatty started The Beatty Bros, located in Fergus, Ontario. This business was a manufacturer of farm equipment. By 1928 the Beatty Bros. had factories in Fergus and London, Ontario. In 1939 factories were also located in Australia and New Zealand. In 1969 the company amalgamated with General Steel Wares to become GSW Limited. This wash tub bench was used at the Cooksville Brickyard in Cooksville, historic Mississauga. The brickyard was in operation from 1912 to the early 1990s. In the summer of 1913, the brickyard company began building 15 dwellings for employees. The brickyard village consisted of a small street layout and four rows of brick houses and boarding houses. By 1924 35 families were living at the brickyard, and many more single male workers living in the large boarding house. The employees and their families became very involved in the local community. At its height, through the 1950s the brickyard sponsored a football club, softball and soccer teams, and an orchestra. The Cooksville Brickyard employed and housed many new immigrants. While a large portion of the workforce was of Italian origins, there were also those of Croatian, Irish, Polish, and Ukrainian ancestry. The wash tub bench was probably used at the brickyard for the employees' and residents' laundry. |
References |
Beatty Bros. Limited. University of Guelph Library. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.lib.uoguelph.ca/archives/our-collections/agricultural-history-and-rural-heritage/beatty-bros-limited "The Cooksville Brickyard: Cooksville's Gold". Heritage Mississauga, 2021. https://heritagemississauga.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Cookville-Brickyard-Web-Version-Final-April-27-2021.pdf |
Site |
Cooksville Brickyard |
Search Terms |
Cooksville Cooksville Brickyard |