5 May 2008
Laing Produce & Storage Co. Ltd.
39-41 Water Street East, Brockville
south side, between Bethune & Park Sts.
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Taken sometime in the 1930s
In this aerial view, taken about seventy-five years ago, you can see the sprawling collection of buildings which made up the Laing Produce & Storage Ltd at that time. The oldest buildings in the centre dated back to the 1870s & ‘80s when it was a brewery. The block on the north side of Water Street East between Bethune and Park Streets looks much like it does today. The modern day Executive Condominium has been located here since 1977.
[This photograph can be viewed full size in a separate window by double clicking on the picture on this page until you reach the enlarged version further in the system]
The History of this Site
The core of the building complex on Water St. E., as seen in the aerial photograph above, was started in 1873 as the brewery of H. Taylor and Co. This early brewery was sold to Robert Bowie and Charles Bate (before 1882) who changed the name to the Brockville Brewery and Malt House. Robert Bowie became the sole proprietor eventually and later took his son Allison G. Bowie into partnership. A.G. Bowie became the manager of the brewery, then named Bowie & Co. In 1890 they were producing 10,000 barrels of beer and ale per year.
Joseph R.A. Laing was first in business (ca.1904) in Brockville operating a cold storage company, the St. Lawrence Produce Co. Ltd. at the top of Georgina St. in buildings which were later taken over by the Brockville Co-operative Association. By 1913 Joe Laing was the manager of the Whyte Packing Co. at the same site. He also was the local representative for Hodgson Bros. & Rowson of Montreal and London.
In 1914 it appears he opened a new company in partnership with J. Gill Gardner of the Smart Manufacturing Co. This company, the Laing Produce & Storage Co. Ltd. with Gardner as president, and Laing as vice-president and manager, purchased the waterfront property and buildings formerly used by the Bowie & Co. Brewery. The sec.-treas. of the company was George M. Rogers.
The main product of this factory was condensed milk, made by the process of boiling raw milk, drawing off the evaporated water and adding sugar. The condensed milk was then canned and shipped. During WWI there was a big European market for Laing’s products.
The company was eventually sold to the Dutch firm of Hollandia. The Brockville plant was managed by George Rogers and Fred Van Dijk at the time of this picture. The company was known to sell the following products: Betty Brand Condensed Milk, Dorothy Brand Evaporated Milk, and Golden Glow Creamery Butter.
The Nestle Company purchased the Water Street plant in later years, and after a period of inactivity, it was taken over by Kraft Foods Ltd. who processed milk products here in Brockville under the names, Ault Milk Products Ltd, and Pet Milk Co. Canada Ltd. in the 1950s & 60s.
The new Executive condominium apartments were built on the site of the milk plant in 1977-78.
Sources: Information about the companies that were located on this property have been collected from many scattered sources. The exact dates for each ownership can only be estimated in some cases. The source of the photograph is unknown.













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