St. Lawrence Engine Works, W. P. Bartley & Co. - History

Manufacturers Index - St. Lawrence Engine Works, W. P. Bartley & Co.

St. Lawrence Engine Works, W. P. Bartley & Co.
Montreal, QC, Canada
Manufacturer Class: Wood Working Machinery & Steam and Gas Engines

History

Last Modified: Feb 19 2015 9:47AM by Jeff_Joslin
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The St. Lawrence Engine Works was established in 1849 by Gilbert, Milne & Bartley. In 1853 W. P. Bartley assumed sole control. In 1856 it was being operated by Bartley & Dunbar. Sometime between 1888 and 1894, ownership changed to Toward & Co. They operated until 1894, and likely for longer. Their diverse product line included steam engines, circular sawmills, shingle mills, and other sawmill machinery.

Information Sources

Mackay's Montreal Directory for 1856-57 has a text ad for "St. Lawrence Engine Works / Canal Basin, Montreal. / Barley & Dunbar / Are now prepared to execute orders for steam engines, boilers, mill work, heavy forgings and brass & iron castings of every description".
Street's Indian and Colonial Mercantile Directory for 1869 lists "Bartley, W. P. & Co. St. Lawrence Engine Works Mill-street".
Lovell's Dominion Canadian Directory of 1871, available online through a University of Guelph webpage, has a full-page ad for this firm.
The above ad mentions the "Gardiner Shingle Mill". We have not found a shingle-mill patent to anyone named Gardiner, but currently we can only search Canadian patents back to 1867. (Canada was formed as a federal dominion in 1867, but various provinces granted patents before then.)
The 1873 Annual Report of the Superintendent of Montreal Water Works, available through Google Books, mentions W. P. Bartley & Co. several times as a prominent supplier of steam engines, water wheels, valves, etc.
The 1874 book, The Artizans' Guide and Everybody's Assistant, by Richard Moore, mentions this firm as a reputable maker of circular sawmills and portable steam engines.
The Dominion of Canada Annual Report of the Minister of Railways and Canals for the fiscal year ending 30 June 1879, mentions that this firm was granted a contract to build a swing bridge.
Maclen, Roger & Co.'s Year Book and Almanac of Canada for 1876 has an ad for the St. Lawrence Engine Works, W. P. Bartley & Co.
An 1884 government document mentions that this firm built a double-engine side-wheel steamer for use as a tender.
An 1894 Marine Engineer and Naval Architect, available online through Google Books, has this snippet: "Messrs. Toward & Co., of the St. Lawrence Engine Works, have commenced the manufacture of a new pump..."
Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, of uncertain date, found through Google Books, "In the year 1852 young [William] Inglis was apprenticed to Mr. Gilbert, of the St. Lawrence Engine Works, Montreal, with whom he remained until 1856, when he came to this country and entered the works of Messrs. R. Napier and Sons, Glasgow."
The 1999 book, From Steam to Space, available in snippet view through Google Books, has this snippet: "...business as a partner in Gilbert, Milne & Bartley from 1849 until 1853. When Bartley became the sole owner of the business, he obtained additional land and power along the Lachine Canal. His St. Lawrence Engine Works consisted of blacksmith, pattern, boiler and finishing shops and a foundry. The machinery included ten lathes, five drilling machines, four planers, punching machines,..."