News from our rich agriculture history

James A. McSloy was a manufacturer, fruit grower, dairy farmer, and horseman of considerable reputation and capability. He was most well-known for founding the Canadian Hair Cloth Co., a company which thrived under his leadership, and operating the Martindale dairy farm, which was famous for its Guernsey stock.

McSloy was born on September 5, 1855, in St. Catharines, where he would spend the majority of his life. He was educated at a private school before attending the St. Catharines Collegiate Institute. Upon graduating he made his first foray into the business world, opening a

The son of a wealthy merchant and farmer Frederick Stimson, born in 1842, had many advantages while growing up in Compton, Quebec. Upon his father’s death Stimson inherited the family farm and much of his father’s money. While in charge of the farm he grew it until it was one of the largest farms in the district with 124 cattle and 23 horses over 1,000 acres of land.

In 1881 Stimson decided to change his path and become a rancher out west due in part to the economic difficulties faced by English speaking farmers in the east. He moved to Alberta to take advantage of