North Bay in Nipissing District, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

New Ontario Brewing Co. Ltd.

— North Bay Heritage Site —

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 31, 2022

1. New Ontario Brewing Co. Ltd. Marker

Inscription.

New Ontario Brewing Co. Ltd.. . , North Bay citizens have long enjoyed a refreshing tankard and for a short time in the early 20th Century, residents were served by their own brewery. The New Ontario Brewing Company Ltd. was the area's first commercial brewery, producing an aptly named beverage "Nipissing Lager". New Ontario Brewing stood near this spot and operated for almost a decade from 1905 to 1915, supplying both local and regional hoteliers' and merchants with lager. The brewery was headed by brewmaster Frank Schaller of Chicago and the bookkeeper was Charles Blyth. The brewery's exact location may be pinpointed on a 1905 municipal insurance map, not far from the original mouth of Chippewa Creek. Due to changes in topography, the Lake Nipissing shoreline and the Chippewa Creek bed, the brewery building today would be located behind the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The site was close to rail transportation as distribution laws at the time allowed for export only. An interesting aside , the location was convenient for the busy railway crews, given the parlours they were known to frequent., In 1904, the brewing company made a request to North Bay Council to be supplied with municipal water. The company likely drew water directly from Lake Nipissing as opposed to Chippewa Creek. As a main ingredient in their lager product, water quality control was quite possibly an issue. The site was bound by the CPR shops and livestock yards to the north and Chippewa Creek to the south. During this time, Chippewa Creek was a convenient drainage point for effluent from many homes upstream. These factors would not have been ideal for the brewmaster's desire for a quality water source. , Earliest photos of the brewery show a two story block building, with glazed wooden windows and a prominent chimney. The New Ontario Brewing Company Ltd. is painted in white across the facade. One photo finds a busy 'brewery booster', his wagon stocked with kegs and crates of the fine lager product. Brewery workers peer out from the upper windows of the second floor. This was most likely a promotional photograph intended to highlight North Bay's bustling brewery and associated products. The establishment operated until it was razed by fire in 1915. , (Credits: W. Steer, W.K.P. Kennedy, I. Bowering)

North Bay citizens have long enjoyed a refreshing tankard and for a short time in the early 20th Century, residents were served by their own brewery. The New Ontario Brewing Company Ltd. was the area's first commercial brewery, producing an aptly named beverage "Nipissing Lager". New Ontario Brewing stood near this spot and operated for almost a decade from 1905 to 1915, supplying both local and regional hoteliers' and merchants with lager. The brewery was headed by brewmaster Frank Schaller of Chicago and the bookkeeper was Charles Blyth. The brewery's exact location may be pinpointed on a 1905 municipal insurance map, not far from the original mouth of Chippewa Creek. Due to changes in topography, the Lake Nipissing shoreline and the Chippewa Creek bed, the brewery building today would be located behind the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The site was close to rail transportation as distribution laws at the time allowed for export only. An interesting aside — the location was convenient for the busy railway crews, given the parlours they were known to frequent.

In 1904, the brewing company made a request to North Bay Council to be supplied with municipal water. The company likely drew water directly from Lake Nipissing as opposed to Chippewa Creek. As a main ingredient in their lager product, water quality control

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was quite possibly an issue. The site was bound by the CPR shops and livestock yards to the north and Chippewa Creek to the south. During this time, Chippewa Creek was a convenient drainage point for effluent from many homes upstream. These factors would not have been ideal for the brewmaster's desire for a quality water source.

Earliest photos of the brewery show a two story block building, with glazed wooden windows and a prominent chimney. The New Ontario Brewing Company Ltd. is painted in white across the facade. One photo finds a busy 'brewery booster', his wagon stocked with kegs and crates of the fine lager product. Brewery workers peer out from the upper windows of the second floor. This was most likely a promotional photograph intended to highlight North Bay's bustling brewery and associated products. The establishment operated until it was razed by fire in 1915.

(Credits: W. Steer, W.K.P. Kennedy, I. Bowering)

Erected by Municipal Heritage Committee — Historic Site Recognition Project. (Marker Number P14.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1905.

Location. 46° 18.196′ N, 79° 27.797′ W. Marker is in North Bay, Ontario, in Nipissing

Marker detail: New Ontario Brewery Keg image. Click for full size.

Barry VanWart Collection

2. Marker detail: New Ontario Brewery Keg

District. Marker is on Memorial Drive just south of Regina Street, on the left when traveling south. Marker is located beside the recreational trail, near the north end of North Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 650 Memorial Drive, North Bay ON P1A 1T6, Canada. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Ontario Northland Railway (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Golf Street / Lee Park (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Carnegie Library (approx. 0.7 kilometers away); CPR Yards (approx. 0.7 kilometers away); The Capitol Theatre (approx. 0.7 kilometers away); Jean Nicolet (approx. 0.7 kilometers away); Gateway of the North Arch (approx. 0.7 kilometers away); Jack Burrows Place (approx. 0.8 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in North Bay.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. North Bay Heritage Sites

Also see . . . New Ontario Brewing Company History.

Built in 1907, The New Ontario Brewery Co. Ltd., was in business for only eight years. The facility stood at the corner of Stanley and Regina Streets. The site of the brewery's dump on Monk Street occasional yields an old bottle from the brewery's era.

(Submitted on February 11, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Marker detail: Nipissing Lager Label image. Click for full size.

3. Marker detail: Nipissing Lager Label

Label courtesy of the Barry VanWart Collection (www.northbayheartbeat.com)
and the Catherine & Randy Stewart Collection (www.vintagepostcards.org).

Marker detail: New Ontario Brewing Company, Ltd. image. Click for full size.

Courtesy Discovery North Bay Museum

4. Marker detail: New Ontario Brewing Company, Ltd.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 31, 2022

5. New Ontario Brewing Co. Ltd. Marker

(looking southeast • north end of North Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant in background)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 14, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 8, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 56 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on February 11, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.