From November 1896 The Canada Lumberman

In 1896 Robt. Bell, Jr. was running the Hensall Engine & Machine Works, makers of circular sawmills and other sawmill machinery. The works were located in Hensall, a village in Huron County, Southern Ontario. By 1900 Bell had relocated to the nearby town of Seaforth and was running the Seaforth Engine & Machine Works, makers of steam engines and circular sawmills. In 1901 Bell received permission to build the Port Huron Engine & Thresher Company's engines in Seaforth, Canada. A 14 H.P. engine was the first to be built.

From 1909-12-15 Canada Lumberman and Woodworker

At some point the business became the Robert Bell Engine & Thresher Co. They survived into the 1920s.

Do you have more information?

I am especially interested in woodworking machinery manufacturers from Ontario, so if you have any information on relevant woodworking machinery companies and products, I strongly urge you to contact Jeff Joslin.

Information Sources

• Ads in 1896 to 1909 issues of The Canada Lumberman.
• Listed in C. H. Wendel's The Circular Sawmill. Wendel says that this company built their own sawmills, and their machines were available with either rack-and-pinion or friction feed.
• The Steam-Era.com web site mentions that this company was the last Ontario company to introduce a new steam threshing engine, which occurred in the 1920s.
• Norbeck, Jack, Encyclopedia of American Steam Traction Engines, Crestline Publishing Inc, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Pg. 220
• Steam Power on the American Farm by Reynold M. Wik, 1953 page 252
• A discussion on smokstak.com has several pictures of tractors and engines from this company plus a few history snippets.
• The Steam Tractor Encyclopedia by John F. Spalding & Robert T. Rhode, 2011 page 304