Manufacturer McClary Manufacturing

McClary Wood Stove

DimensionsOverall: 62 x 41.5 x 45.5 cm

Credit LineGift of Mr. John H. Moore, 1990

Object number1990.008.002

Label TextA native of New Hampshire, John McClary Sr. married in Pennsylvania about 1817 and settled with his family in Westminster. Since John Jr was the 11th of 12 children, his future lay away from the family farm. An older brother, Oliver, trained him as a tinsmith and in 1849 John went to work for him in nearby London. After a brief stint (1850-51) working as a tinsmith and miner in the gold fields of California, John returned home to London ahere he and Oliver resumed business together as J. and O. McClary. They added a foundry to make stoves, which would become their mainstay, and hired others to sell their products. In 1871, they created a limited liability company, McClary Manufacturing, with the stated intention of producing stoves, tin, copper, and pressed wares, agricultural implements, and other ironware and machinery. The firm introduced new lines, including a profitable range of enamelware in 1880, and established warehouses in Toronto and Montreal (1879), Winnipeg (1880), Vancouver (1894), Saint John (1901), and Hamilton (1902). In 1882 the company had secured a dominion charter and within two years was exporting in Britain, the West Indies, and Australia. Its rapid rebuilding after a fire in 1888 led the "London Advertiser" to exclaim, "there is probably no firm in Canada that has such a reputation for hustling." Following Oliver McClary's death in 1902, John ran the business on his own. A sate-of-the-art factory completed in 1904 to replace the foundry facilitated new models of stoves and furnaces.The McClary Manufacturing Company made this kettle. In 1927, the McClary Manufacturing Company merged with four others to become General Steel Wares. Its London plant closed in the mid-1970s.

NameStove