1914-07-14aas

“A dispatch from Cincinnati to the Spectator today announces that Proctor & Gamble, multi-millionaire soap and perfume manufacturers, have selected Hamilton as their Canadian headquarters.”

Hamilton Spectator.  July 14, 1914.

It was an announcement that would be welcome at any time, but with the unemployment numbers so high in Hamilton during 1914, the news was even more welcome than usual.

Proctor & Gamble was a major industry, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, with five big plants across the United States. In 1914, the huge firm was looking for a location to build their first plant in Canada:

“For several months, it has been investigating the Canadian field with a view of erecting a big plant to supply trade on this side of the border. Toronto at one time had the call, and it looked as if things were settled for the big concern there.”¹

¹ “Big Industry Will Locate in Hamilton : Plans Provide for Plant to cost $250,000”

Hamilton Spectator.    July 14, 1914.

The industrial commissioner for the City of Hamilton, H. M. Marsh, was not one to give up easily. He contacted the management of Proctor & Gamble and managed to get an appointment with them:

“Mr. Marsh went over to Cincinnati in the early stages of negotiations and furnished the company with all the information it desired about Hamilton. The advantages of the city appealed so strongly to the firm that it decided to locate here.”¹

Mr. Marsh was surprised on July 14, 1914 when the public announcement was made by the leaders of the Proctor & Gamble firm that Hamilton was the choice for the company’s Canadian location. He was not surprised that Hamilton was the choice, as he had been informed about that previously. However, he had been told to keep the decision secret until Proctor & Gamble closed the real estate deal for the property in the city’s east end industrial district.

Marsh told a Spectator reporter who informed him about the announcement, that he had been told that Proctor & Gamble’s investment in Hamilton would be more than a quarter of a million dollars, and that, just to be begin with, 500 people would be hired.

It was news that certainly lifted the spirits of many in Hamilton who had been suffering because of the prolonged economic slow-down which had been negatively impacting the city.