The Blacksmith Shop – 135 River St
One of them was Dan McIntyre, whose blacksmith shop stood here at 135 River Street. McIntyre was already listed as a Sunderland blacksmith in an 1891 directory, and maps from 1904 and 1910 show a blacksmith shop at this location. He operated his shop from the garage beside the house.
McIntyre also trained young men in the blacksmithing trade. Among his apprentices was William James Payne, who later established his own blacksmith shop in Markham. Another was Fred Wilkinson, who had arrived in Canada as a Barnardo Boy in 1899 at only nine years of age.
One reminder of the work once carried out here survived long after the forge was gone. A massive circular iron frame, approximately four feet in diameter and weighing about 100 pounds, remained on the front lawn. It was used in the process of fitting iron tires to wooden buggy and wagon wheels. In the fall of 2008, the frame was moved to the Sunderland Museum at 14 Church Street North, where it could be preserved as part of the community’s blacksmithing history.
McIntyre’s was one of several blacksmith shops that served Sunderland over the years. Thomas Colerin operated a shop from 1856 to 1883 at the northwest corner of River Street and Highway 12. His sons later became wheelwrights for the T. Eaton Company in Toronto, repairing the company’s delivery wagons. Henry German built a Sunderland blacksmith shop in 1883, while Thomas Warean and his son Henry were working as village blacksmiths by 1901. Another livery and blacksmith shop operated east of the CIBC bank and down the hill from 1907 until 1955.
The house at 135 River Street was later occupied by Ken Sheldon. The house was removed in 2009, but the history of Dan McIntyre’s blacksmith shop remains associated with this site.
2. Saint Andrews United Church – 10 Church St N
3. Sunderland Town Hall – 120 River St
4. Dr. Joseph Henry Oliver Home – 128 River St
5. St. Mary’s Anglican Church – 134 River St
6. Dr. James McDermott Home – 160 River St
7. The Fogg House – 198 River St
8. The Blacksmith Shop – 135 River St
9. The Nipissing House Hotel – 123 River St
10. Stop 4 Variety – 111 River St
11. The Old Drug Store – 108 River St
12. The Gigantic Hand Saw, Guardian Pharmacy – 103 River St
13. Fresh Mart – 97 River St
14. The Beall Block – 93 River St
15. The Harness Shop – 89 River St
16. Taylor’s Store – 85 River St
17. The William Doble Home – 32 Albert St
18. The Sunderland Presbyterian Church – 5 Albert St
19. Doyle’s General Store – 3 Albert St
20. The McDermott Block – 1 Albert Street S
21. The Sunderland Telephone Company. – 63 River St
22. James Doble Home – 3 Cedar St S
23. William Nassau Doble Home – 12 River St
24. Thomas Welsh Home – 20 River St
25. Robert Doble Home – 48 River St
26. The Bank – River Street (CIBC) – 74 River St
27. The Brock House Hotel – 82 River St
28. The Hardware Store – 92 River St
29. The Early Undertaker – 96 River St
30. The Printing Shop – 98 River St
31. The Magic Door – 100 River St
32. The Sunderland Legion – 104 River St
33. 108 River Street – 108 River Street
34. “Old” Fire Hall – 5 Church St N
35. The Sunderland Memorial Arena – 20 Park St