Thomas Marrs

Thomas Marrs, contractor, was appointed manager of the Sash and Door Factory (also known as the Planing Mill or Planing Factory) by January 1879 [CP 31 Jan 1879; 3]. Marrs first appears in the directories in 1878, and the factory may have begun in that year. Certainly he was instrumental in getting the business up and running. Located on Francis Street West the buildings were owned by Joseph McArthur [FFG 17 July 1880; 2]. In early March 1880 there was an attempt made to burn the Factory, but the fire was extinguished before any real damage was done [CP 12 March 1880; 3]. Later on May 8th, 1880, the factory and seven other buildings1 were destroyed in a fire caused by “an incendiary.” “A large quantity of material for a brick hotel in Cambray [was] destroyed, together with all [Marrs’] tools” [CP 14 May 1880; 2].

Marrs was also the contractor and architect of the Mansion House Hotel in the village. He also built Dr. Archibald Wilson’s house at the corner of Bond and Colborne Streets in 1882 [FFG 11 Feb 1882; 2]. His name vanishes from local sources after this. At the funeral of Joseph McArthur in 1892, “Mrs. Thomas Marrs” was identified as a relative “from Toronto” [FFG 9 Dec 1892; 4].