THE BACKSTORY
A name that shaped
HALIFAX
Clayton was once just a name on a clothing business — as the family’s fortunes ebbed and flowed, they helped shape their city
T
heir name is well-known to Haligonians, but the Clayton family’s history in the city stretches back long before the sprawling development that bears their name. The family’s influence on the city began far from Clayton Park. On the site that now houses Scotia Square, Clayton & Sons, a clothing manufacturer, was a Halifax mainstay for almost a century, one that started with a small second-hand clothing store on Duke Street. Originally from England, Mary and George Clayton immigrated to Nova Scotia with their eight children in 1863. The next year, George, who worked as a tailor, died from a stroke. “He died rather quickly and unexpectedly,” says Erika Wilson, curator of collections at the Nova Scotia Museum of Industry. “They had quite a few children and his widow, Mary was left to try and come up with a way to support her family.” By 1866, Mary had established her second-hand clothing shop out of the family home on Duke Street. Over the next 30 years, under her leadership and that of her sons Edward and William, Claytons would grow. “They did open one of the city’s biggest, most progressive industries,” says Wilson. They offered workers profit sharing and banking options. Their factory, located on the corner of Barrington and Jacob streets, was recognized for its well-lit and clean conditions. At its busiest, it employed about 500 people. By the late 1890s, the factory housed everything the business needed under one roof including two work
rooms, a special order department, a clothing and furnishing stock rooms, a cutting room, and a packing and shipping room. According to a booklet celebrating the company’s 30th anniversary, Claytons was a name that was “synonymous with the growth of the clothing trade in Canada ... The firm stands in the front rank.” By the 1930s, the company was no longer so progressive. Reports suggest the factory wasn’t as clean and appealing as it once was, and the company was losing money. William and Edward died during this decade, with William’s daughter Mary Louise taking over. “The company wasn’t really keeping up with the fashions and trends at the time; they were more kind of focusing on ready-made pieces that they had been making for a while,” says Wilson. “Another reason was that they had kind of shifted focus into making uniforms, especially for the military. After the Second World War, they had had a huge contract … that had fallen through and so they had lost quite a bit of money in that venture.” By 1955, to avoid having to file for bankruptcy, Claytons closed. The factory building was demolished in the 1960s. Yet the family name would return to play a big part in Halifax’s future. In the family’s turn-of-the-century heyday, they bough a sprawling tract of land in Rockingham. After their fortunes shifted in the late 1950s, they sold the 40 hectares to a developer. From that, grew Clayton Park, one of the city’s fastest-growing neighbourhoods over the last two decades.
NOV / DEC 2021
UNRAVEL
HRM Archives, Halifax Police Department photograph, 102-16N-0016.08
BY KATIE INGRAM
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