Upcoming Heritage Conferences 2022

The National Trust for Canada, October 20-22, 2022, Toronto, The Heritage Reset, Making Critical Choices

RECENT RESEARCH - HERITAGE PORT HOPE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

228 CAVAN STREET, THOMAS MOLSON DISTILLERY BUILDING, circa 1851

There are few Pre-Confederation buildings constructed in 1851 that have survived numerous floods and fire but the unassuming building located at 228 Cavan Street on the Ganaraska River has weathered all those events and endures as a unique reminder of Port Hope’s industrial past in the mid-nineteenth century.

Not only has it survived but it has had a storied history over the years. The building was constructed in 1851 by Thomas Molson of the Molson family when he arrived in Port Hope after purchasing some properties that included a distillery, brewery and a flour mill that was located to the north of Cavan Street on the Ganaraska River.

Over the years, as the site transformed into other business ventures, 228 Cavan Street has continued to be utilized. After the Molson period of ownership, the industrial site was expanded by Thomas Ambrose who established a large brewery called Highland Springs Brewery and Ambrose and Winslow and added substantial buildings to the site in circa 1880. In 1910, the building complex was purchased by the Dominion Canning Company and used as a canning factory for many decades, known as the Port Hope Canning and Preserving Company. In 1962, the factory complex was used to produce Alpo Dog Food for Stein Packers. In 1968, the building complex burned down and the only building left on the site was 228 Cavan Street. The next phase of the building history was its use as a candy factory to produce candy under the name Cavan Candies, a much-appreciated business known for their fudge and other sweet treats. The building to this day is often referred to as the Cavan Candy building.

228 Cavan Street is one of only two Pre-Confederation buildings constructed by Thomas Molson in Upper Canada that has survived. The other building that was completed during the same period by Molson is the Molson Mill located at 46 Molson Street in Port Hope, a designated building. These buildings are examples of early industrial structures important not only for their architectural legacy but their historic connection to the Molson name, and the contribution that Port Hope made to the manufacturing dynasty and the brewing and distillery business during the mid-nineteenth century.