281 McDermot Avenue

Stobart, Sons and Company

Founded in 1876 as Stobart, Eden and Company by English coal merchant D.W. Stobart, the business became an exclusive dry goods operation in 1899 when his son, Fred Stobart, took over operations and rebranded at Stobart, Sons and Company. With $500,000 in capital (25 million adjusted) they broke ground on a new building at 281 McDermot Avenue in 1903.

The same year, Stobart branched out from wholesale and moved into manufacturing, trademarking “No. 1 Hard” and selling their own brand of overalls and work shirts. With the growth of the business, 281 McDermot Avenue added two more floors to the five storey building in 1907, with the Stobart, Sons and Company sign painted on both the North and West sides of the addition. The company ceased operations in 1914 when management shifted focus towards the Christie Grant Company, their own mail order business.