Standard Chemical Company
The Legacy of the Company For South River
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Background of Standard Chemical Company, LimitedThe SawmillThe Lumber Produced in South RiverThe Company RailroadThe Logging CampEfficiency and Sustainability of the Lumber OperationsThe Legacy of the Company For South River
First Truck Loads After Tracks were Lifted, circa 1946 Details
The South River operation of Standard Chemical Company, though it worried about the future of its timber rights in Laurier Township, had little to fear. In 1931 the company negotiated with the Government of Ontario for rights to a new timber limit, further east of Laurier, partly within Algonquin Park. In 1946, the company decided to discontinue hauling logs with its own rail line since it was becoming too expensive to maintain. To reach its two lumber camps, by this time, it made an all-year road, 18 miles long, to allow trucks to haul felled trees from the timber limit to the sawmill and chemical plant. This picture shows some of the first loads of logs being hauled this way.
Old Coal Chute Standard Chemical Company, May 1983 Details
For decades Standard Chemical Company was the largest employer in South River. The company employed over 500 people from the South River area. These men worked in the: sawmill, chemical plant, company railroad or lumber camps. The company also owned twenty-six houses, which they rented to their employees. In 1951 Standard Chemical Company sold its timber limits and sawmill to Hay & Co. of Woodstock and the chemical plant to the Dominion Tar and Chemical Company. A chapter in the history of South River had been written.
