Mooney Biscuit Company by Betty Jo Belton
The Mooney Biscuit and Candy Company at 245 Downie Street was once one of Stratford’s most important industries. Goods in their distinctive royal purple and blue packages proclaiming their Stratford origins were shipped across North America. Perfection Cream Soda and Avon Chocolates were among the most popular products.
The Stratford Evening Herald of March 11, 1903 reported briefly that “the first stone in the Mooney Factory was laid yesterday. There was no ceremony attached thereto.” However, increasingly enthusiastic reports appeared over the next few months commenting on the state of the stonework, installation of the boiler, testing of the ovens, and arrival of specialized equipment. In June an intriguing array of devices for the bakeshop had been installed. The “40 men and 100 girls” on staff were reported to be busy setting up the equipment needed to create fine creams, chocolates, gum, candies, marshmallows, cordials and many other varieties of confectionary.
Stratford’s newest factory was in full swing as of August 17, 1903. An extensive addition was required just a year later and yet another addition followed in short order. A 1904 fire insurance plan that maps all of the buildings in the city shows the Mooney Biscuit and Candy building at the south-east corner of Falstaff and Downie streets. The shipping department was on the first floor with ready access to the railway sidings that ran directly to the factory on the south side of Falstaff Street. The biscuit department occupied the second floor while candy making took up the next two levels of the building.
1910. Mooney Office Staff. This recently acquired photo of the Mooney office staff in 1910 was taken by noted Stratford photographer William I. Becker. (see Becker Street) Photo: Stratford-Perth Archives.
Eventually the building extended the entire block from Falstaff to Milton Street and had 130,000 square feet of floor space. One of the photographs from the collections at Stratford-Perth Archives seen here shows the mammoth structure. The other image is a very recent addition to the Archives. It shows the office staff in 1910 as captured on film by Stratford photographer William I. Becker. The company later opened factories in Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver and warehouses and offices in several other Canadian cities. In 1914, at the height of its success, Mooney produced sixty thousand pounds of biscuits and cookies and fifty thousand pounds of candy and chocolates every day. There were thirteen hundred staff, nearly a quarter of them working in Stratford, with an annual payroll of half a million dollars.
The head office of the company, along with founder William James Mooney, moved to Montreal around 1916. The 1925 insurance plan shows the Canadian General Electric Col. (Hot Point Division) occupying the Mooney factory building. The structure extends from Falstaff to Milton and a C.N.R siding still runs along Falstaff. A 1949 fire insurance plan shows the original Mooney building occupied by National Grocers Co. Ltd. Warehouse. A portion of the addition remains at the corner of Milton and Downie – housing Tolton’s Garage and Repair shop. Other businesses that have occupied the site include the Canadian Edison Electric Appliance Company, Kist Canada, J.L. Bradshaw Warehouse and Healthworks. Much of the original Mooney factory at 245 Downie Street still stands. It was designated a heritage building by the City of Stratford in 1991. It is now the home of The Bradshaw Lofts. Source: Stratford - Perth Arcives