From Humble Beginnings to Industrial Powerhouse in Brantford

The Massey-Harris Company, an icon of Canadian industry, dates back to 1857, when Alanson Harris set up a farm implement manufacturer in Beamsville, Ontario. Harris started out in a small frame building, but quickly added a variety of farming implements. His dream was to offer farmers new machines that could increase productivity and take manual labour out of the process. The company took a big leap though, in 1871, when Harris moved the firm to Brantford, Ontario, attracted by the city’s growing industrial capacity.

Harris, with John Harris and J. K. Osborne, formed A. Harris, Son & Co. in Brantford. This new location, on Colborne Street, became the firm’s site for production including mowers, reapers, self-binding harvesters, harrows and cultivators. The company’s products established a reputation for quality and trustworthiness, growing rapidly in size and influence. It was so successful that new structures, including a foundry and blacksmith workshop on the south bank of the canal in 1882 were built. By the late 19th century, the plant was one of the area’s leading producers of farm machinery.

A. Harris, Son & Co. joined with the Massey Company in 1891, creating Massey-Harris, a powerful agricultural force. Both firms were improved by the union, and the Massey name gave them extra popularity. The firm thrived and eventually expanded to Toronto, though Brantford was still the main location. The Brantford plant continued to expand, producing thousands of mowers, reapers and binders by 1920. With this impressive growth, Massey-Harris became one of the leading producers of agricultural machinery and exported its equipment to Canada and beyond.

Unfortunately, the company’s success had continuous ups and downs due to the industry's constant shifting. In 1953, Massey-Harris purchased Harry Ferguson’s tractor company to become Massey-Harris-Ferguson. The firm’s global ambitions grew and, by the 1960s, Massey-Ferguson was a major player in the field of farm equipment. The postwar-era boom only helped the company for a short time until it collapsed in the late 1970s. Massey-Ferguson’s finances were declining by 1981, and it needed a huge refinance package. The company was restructured in 1986 and Massey Combines was separated but continued to trade under new ownership. Sadly, the Brantford plant, a once-crucial base of the company, shut down in 1988 when it entered receivership.

Massey-Harris was a unique part of Brantford’s industrial past. From humble origins in Beamsville to its glory days as a world-renowned producer of farm equipment, the company shaped Canada’s agriculture sector. Although no longer in business, Massey-Harris lives on as a monument to Brantford's innovation, skill and industry.

References

https://history-api.brantfordlibrary.ca/Document/View/c35a2046-4306-441e-ab2f-3fade46ce2f3

Reville, F. D. (1920). History of the County of Brant (Vol. 2). The Hurley Printing Company. Retrieved from http://images.ourontario.ca/brant/83965/data