George Weston 1864-1924

Photos by Alan L Brown - Posted October, 2008

Here, on the north side of Soho Street at Phoebe Street, a block north of Queen Street, stands an Ontario Heritage Trust plaque. Here's what it says:

Plaque coordinates: 43.650764 -79.39387

George Weston was born in Oswego, New York in 1864. His family moved to Toronto and at age 12 George was apprenticed to a local baker. In 1882, Weston bought a bread delivery route from his employer and two years later a bakery. With the increasing popularity of his "Real Home Made Bread", he opened the "Model Bakery" near this site in 1897. This bakery used the latest bread-making technology and was praised by the press for its modern efficiency and cleanliness. In 1910, Weston entered Ontario politics. Elected as the "business man's candidate", he served four years as alderman. He joined with bakers from Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg to form the Canada Bread Company in 1911, while continuing to produce biscuits at his own bakery. In 1921, he left Canada Bread to focus on the Weston family business, with his son Garfield as vice-president. George Weston died in 1924, having established Canada's largest baking company and laid the foundation for a leading global food business.

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Posted January 26, 2009
Great site. Nice contribution to the recognition of Toronto's short yet important history. Thanks for all the hard work.

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