Marmora in Hastings County, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
The Pearce Company
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 31, 2024
1. The Pearce Company Marker
Perhaps one of the most prosperous businesses in Marmora's history was the Pearce Lumber Company. Thomas Pearce, who was also Reeve and Warden in the late 1800s, built mills in Marmora in 1873, launching the Pearce family into a number of successful associated businesses that would help Marmora prosper for more than half a century. Pearce had three sons, Billie Pearce, H. Reginald Pearce and Frank Pearce. The latter two would play a part in village affairs right into the 1930s. Billie became well known and fondly thought of as a village character until his death in 1933.
From Pearce's Marmora headquarters, a stream of lumberjacks set out northerly each fall. Locals were joined by French-Canadians and even Scandinavian loggers. For more than three months they would work the bush with their axes and crosscut saws. Huge logs would be trimmed with twelve pound broad-axes, then towed, skidded and cajoled onto the frozen lakes. As spring thawed the rivers and lakes, the timber would start its journey down Crowe Lake and Beaver Creek. Log drivers, called white water men, would break up jams with hooks, peavey and dynamite. Along the river, rock and log platforms were built on the river for drivers to stand on, up to their waists if need be, in icy waters. Even today, when the water level drops, those platforms still become visible. Just upstream from the dam, the logs were led into sorting channels. Each was fed into the mill and made into either lumber or firewood. Behind the mills, the great sawdust burner was a country landmark. The Pearce family also owned and operated a wool mill that employed 15 full-time people and shipped wool to wholesalers as far away as Toronto and Montreal.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Horticulture & Forestry • Industry & Commerce •
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Location. 44° 28.947′ N, 77° 41.046′ W. Marker is in Marmora, Ontario, in Hastings County. It can be reached from the intersection of Matthew Street (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 7) and Cameron Street, on the left when traveling east. The marker and interpretive kiosk are located in front of the Marmora Tourism Centre. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 9 Matthew Street, Marmora ON K0K 2M0, Canada. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Ontario and specifically in Southeastern Ontario. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, on the Great Lakes, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Ruperts Land.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 23 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Pioneer Irontown 1821-1875 (here, next to this marker); The Miners of Marmora and Lake
2. Marker detail: Pearce Lumber Mill and Marmora Dam
Also see . . .
1. The Pearce Company (marmorahistory.ca).
Excerpt: The greatest business in town was the Pearce Company and its mills. A virtual dynasty had been established by Reeve and Warden, Thomas Peter Pearce. The heart of the Pearce family business was always lumber. Companies before them had logged the vast wilderness north of Marmora, but none had done it so extensively or so well. In 1897, Thomas Peter Pearce completed an extraordinary purchase. From its nucleus of mills at the Marmora dam, the company expanded to own over 23,000 acres in Hastings County alone. For decades the family company owned the land and family members dominated(Submitted on December 8, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)local government and society.
3. Marker detail: Log to Norwood to make cheese boxes, 1940George Lummiss, Wallace Lummiss, C. Campion, H. Landon
2. The Pearce Company, Limited (Marmora Historical Foundation - Facebook).
Excerpt: This company was incorporated in 1893 under a special act of the Ontario Legislature, with powers to manufacture and deal in lumber, flour, woolen goods, and in addition the working and development of mines, reduction of ores and general merchants. They control the entire waterpower privilege at Marmora and lease the village from 500 to 1000 horsepower for lighting purposes. They operate saw, shingle and lath mills, sash and door factory, woolen and flour mills. The building material for the large mines in the Marmora district was supplied by this company. In addition to their Marmora property, the company owns over 50,000 acres of timber and mining lands in the counties of Hastings and Peterborough...(Submitted on December 8, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 31, 2024
4. The Pearce Company Marker & Kiosk
The Marmora Tourism Centre is on the right; Matthews Street crosses in the background.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 8, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 8, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 203 times since then and 55 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 8, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
