Findlay Foundry Reunion
March 29 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Findlay’s Limited of Carleton Place was once a household name in much of Canada.
On May 24, 2025, The Carleton Place and Beckwith Museum will open “Findlay’s Foundry: Moulding Our Town”, an exhibition celebrating the foundry and the family.
David Findlay of Paisley, Scotland, arrived in the village of Carleton Place in 1858. Trained as an iron moulder, he found work at the Fuller iron foundry and by 1860 had built his own small foundry in a log barn on Charlotte Street.
Originally producing ploughs and agricultural tools, Findlay began the manufacture of stoves in 1876. They were an immediate success, as an editorial in the Carleton Place “Herald”, October 16, 1879, attests: “Since the cold mornings have set in, we have given Mr. Findlay’s new stove a trial. With one or two sticks of hardwood it will keep up a moderate heat all night and can be used for either coal or wood.”
By the time David Findlay died in 1890, Findlay stoves were being shipped all over the country. The business was being run by his two eldest sons, David and William. Under their ownership, the company widened production to such items as gas and electric ranges, furnaces and cast-iron cookware.
Findlay’s was more than a foundry – it helped mould our community!
By sheer size the foundry loomed large in Carleton Place. The massive brick building stretched from High Street to the Mississippi River between Water and McLaren streets. There was no way you could escape its presence. The factory whistle, heard all over town, gave order to each weekday, blowing six times a day and defining mealtimes for all.
After more than a century of ownership, Findlay’s was sold to a Quebec firm in 1965. The High Street foundry building was closed in 1972 and demolished in 1974, but remnants of Findlay history are still visible all through town.
On Saturday, March 29, we’re inviting all former Findlay workers (and their families) to join us for an afternoon at the museum to chat, to remember and to reminisce! In preparation for our upcoming summer exhibit all about Findlay’s we are hoping to connect with former workers, their families, and anyone in the community with stories to share about Findlay’s Limited and the Findlay family.
We’ll have the coffee on, some snacks, and Findlay displays and memorabilia on exhibit. Staff will be collecting information and memories to help us put together our summer exhibit. Bring your stories and your friends (and maybe some Findlay “stuff”!)
For more information contact us at 613-253-7013 or cpbmuseum@outlook.com