Museum Blog - May 2017
The shop was located on Pitt Street at the Fly Creek Bridge, having been erected ca. 1882 by Isaac Boileau/Waters on land that he purchased from John Sandfield Macdonald. In time the creek was succeeded by a trunk sewer and apparently the building was rotated 90 degrees as evidenced by the various Fire Insurance maps (pictured) and photos from different time periods.
On March 1, 1921, Isaac sold the business to J. Wilbur McCanse whose father previously ran a blacksmith shop in Hemmingford, QC.
In this photo from the 1920s the gable end of the building faces the street; later the building would be rotated, apparently to allow for two doors facing the street once the creek and bridge were gone. Isaac’s nephew, Joseph Laundrie, is leading the horse in the photo. Joseph apprenticed there with Isaac and returned to work at the shop various times under evolving ownership.
This image is from the City’s ARCGIS. The mauve areas are easements, while the orange line running through 517 Pitt illustrates where the Fly Creek was diverted underground through the use of a trunked sewer.
By 1939 Frank Stephenson operated out of that shop.
By 1947 Harvey Boucher and his son Rolland operated their blacksmith shop in the same location, ultimately transitioning the structure to a welding shop which was demolished in March of 1964. The 517 Pitt Street building was on the east edge of what is now the TV Cogeco location.
