From about the late 1880s this company is known to have made woodworking and metalworking machinery of heavy-duty character. In the late 1940s the business was acquired by Upton, Bradeen & James, which continued making McDougall machinery. Eventually they ceased production in Canada and began putting the McDougall name on German-made products from VDF.
From May 1906 Canadian Machinery
A McDougall drill press bears a strong resemblance to those made by Sibley & Ware of South Bend, Indiana. We do not know whether this was a licensed copy. It is possible that the castings were made by Sibley & Ware, imported to Canada and machined by McDougall as a way of avoiding the heavy import tariffs on finished products.
Do you have more information?
I am especially interested in woodworking machinery manufacturers from Ontario, and particularly Cambridge, so if you have any information on relevant woodworking machinery companies and products, I strongly urge you to contact the Historian.
Information Sources
- Andrew Webster of Ottawa has researched the history of this firm, and his report constitutes the McDougall page at the lathes.co.uk website. Most of the history here is based on that information.
- 1869: The Province of Ontario Gazetteer and Directory, edited by H. McEvoy, lists "MCDOUGALL & BROOMFIELD (Robert & Robert), carpenters and saw mill props."
- 1883 Farley's Directory of the Metal Workers of the United States, Canada and the British Provinces, page 186, lists Galt metalworking firms including R. McDougall & Co., Iron and Brass Founders.
- 1902 book, Picturesque and Industrial Galt, says that this company then employed about one hundred hands in the manufacture of "hand and power pumps, hot water boilers, wood working machinery, and iron tools of various descriptions."
- We have had several reports of water pumps from this company. Since the company is long gone, parts are no longer available. One correspondent said that his pump was from the 1960s. That is possible, as we have no other information on how long the company existed.
- Correspondent Mark Christensen reported a metalworking lathe from this maker. It is a Model D-50 10x30 lathe.
- An inventory of the City of Cambridge Archives indicates that they have some papers for this company, but we have not yet seen them.