Hiram Walker

Early life

Hiram Walker was born on July 4, 1816, on a family farm in Douglas, Massachusetts. He was the sixth generation of English immigrants; his father was a reputable schoolmaster. His ancestors can be traced back to Thomas Walker of Boston, who emigrated to America from England. His father died when he was aged 9. Douglas, Massachusetts was a small town, with a population of 1,800, and very few businesses, which include a planing mill, a machine shop, cotton factory and forge. He received a "common" school education in Boston, and began working as a dry goods clerk. He left for Detroit, Michigan, in 1838, at the age of 22 years. Detroit was a vast change from Boston at the time, as Detroit had a smaller population, where Walker was able to find employment. His first employment in Detroit was as a grocery clerk at a store owned by Augustus Gardner, east of Woodward Avenue. His general tasks were to order, receive, check and price out all the goods in which the company dealt. Through this, he gained knowledge and experience of the business world. At this time, Boston was the major metropolis of New England. Walker, as well as many other youthful New Englanders, were drawn to the opportunity of the midwest and beyond, largely due to the expansion and development of the railway.

Marriage and family

On October 5, 1846, at age thirty, Walker married Mary Abigail Williams. Mary Williams and Hiram Walker had seven children, five boys and two girls, but one of the girls died at age 13.

His wife was the daughter of Ephraim Smith Williams and Hannah Melissa Gotee of Silver Lake, Michigan. Mary Abigail, like Walker, was the descendant of new England pioneers, whose familial roots traced back to Massachusetts in 1638. On her mother's side, Mary Abigail was the descendant of French merchants.

He had two daughters, Julia Elizabeth and Jennie Melissa, and five sons, Willis Ephraim, Edward Chandler, Franklin Hiram, Alfred (infant), and James Harrington. Edward Chandler, his second son, commissioned the development of Willistead Manor.

Adult life

Throughout his life, Walker remained an American citizen. For a period of five years from 1859 until 1864, he lived in Windsor in a residence named the "Cottage" on land that was part of the Labadie holdings which Walker originally purchased. The "Cottage", a large home for the period, had a third story as well as a large verandah.

Business history

Early years

Walker was not new to the world of business. Since his migration to Detroit he had been involved in several different projects. In his earlier days he worked as a grocery clerk from 1838 until 1845 for several different employers. Eventually, after being involved in the grocery business for several years, he took it upon himself to begin operating a grocery store of his own in 1846 which did not last. Following his work as a clerk, Walker was employed at the firm of Ingersoll and Kirby, a leather and leather goods business. Through this, he gained his first knowledge into the business world. By 1845, he had saved enough money as a clerk to invest in a business, the firm of Walker and Parker, which specialized in tanning and leather sales. However, this partnership dissolved in 1846, and Walker returned to the grocery business. The tannery business burned down in 1848.

Walker was well-regarded as a proficient businessman, noted for his involvement in a wide range of different businesses and industries. Some associate his success with his ability to dabble in multiple business opportunities as well as jump quickly on prospective businesses. This can be seen, for example, during his grocery business between 1849 and 1858 when Walker had the idea to produce his own vinegar. His beginnings in the distillery business have been traced to January 1849, where an advertisement in a Detroit newspaper publicized Walker's "barrels of cider vinegar" and "wheat whisky". It was advertised for 10 cents per gallon. Through this business, he began to distill his own vinegar, which became popular in the area because of its consistency, low price, and high quality. He then sold it at his grocery store, to other grocers as well as across the River in Windsor via door-to-door sales. Thus, the vinegar factory became another successful business venture for Walker which, after years of success in Detroit, he sold in 1858.

It is true that it was the manufacturing of vinegar led to Walker's eventual shift to the manufacturing of whisky. However, he had been selling alcohol since 1849 and continued to at the time he actually began to distill. He also was involved in the grain business, through serving as a supplier to the local flour mills in the Detroit area.

Development of Walker's distillery

Through his work in the grocery business, as well as his cider and wheat sales, he had nearly $40,000 saved, which he then used to purchase additional space in Detroit and inexpensive land across the Detroit River, in what is now Windsor, Ontario, in order to expand his business. He did have interest in distilling his own liquor, but at the time, there were strict prohibition laws which prevented him from doing so. Walker distilled his first barrel of whisky in 1854, despite the instability of prohibition laws. After 5 years of distilling in Detroit he ended that particular business there.

Walker was considered one of the largest landowners in Ontario, and over his entire lifetime, his land possessions measured around 10,000 acre, most of which along the Walkerville and Detroit River Railroad. The location of Walker's property, on what was originally considered part of the Labdie farm, was extremely valuable because the Great Western Railway was in close proximity and enabled Walker to move products from his distillery and cattle yards.

Whisky makers before Walker ran spirits and whisky through charcoal, until around 1855, but Walker's method of utilizing a barrel to "create colour" and a pleasing flavor was unprecedented.

A huge demand for Walker's whisky and flour originated through the Civil War. It was at this time, that smuggling became common via the Detroit River. There is a legend that Walker built a "liquor pipeline" under the Detroit River for smuggling purposes.

Being an entrepreneur, Walker looked at every venture possible, to expand his business. Since Detroit was only a boat-ride across the river to Windsor, Canada, he began to weigh his options in expanding into foreign territory. Canada had much to offer entrepreneurs and business risktakers. The population was increasing gradually, communications were advancing, and real estate was cheaper compared to that from across the river. Labor and materials also cost less in Canada than in the States. Walker looked into expanding to Canada. With the expansion of America through the Great Western Railroad, trade opportunities opened up for businessmen like Walker. He ventured into Canada across the border from Detroit into what is currently known as Essex County. At this time, the population in this area was considerably smaller than that of Detroit, consisting of small village settlements under the Township of Sandwich, such as the villages of Windsor and Sandwich. Most of the land in this area was vast farm land.

Involvement with Detroit newspapers

Walker became heavily involved with Detroit newspapers during the mid-1860s and 1870s. He bought $10,000 worth of stock in the newspaper known as the Advertiser and Tribune. Their largest competitor of the time was the Daily Post, which proved to be a fierce rival. Walker constantly put forth suggestions of a merger, but his requests were constantly denied. By 1872, Walker purchased another $10,000 in shares, becoming the primary shareholder in the newspaper. The following year, the senior editor of the Advertiser and Tribune had resigned, and Walker immediately bought the stock he had in the company. J.E. Scripps, the former senior editor of the Advertiser and Tribune, soon opened his own newspaper, the Evening News. This divided the competition even further. In 1877, the Advertiser and Tribune merged with the Daily Post under the name the Post and Tribune, as Walker had wanted. Two years later, a fire burned down the offices of the newspaper and Walker was estimated to have lost $30,000. Walker lost interest in the newspaper business soon after and sold the Post and Tribune to James McMillan.

Walkerville

Walker started his milling and distilling business in the town of Sandwich, near Windsor, Ontario. Farmers and other people who worked in Windsor aided Walker with his distilling business. The economic growth that encapsulated the Township of Sandwich started with Walker transforming his property (Labadie Farm) into one with new industrial buildings. These buildings, like the "Walker Mill" and the "Walker Pens" were places people living in the area could bring their wheat and pigs, creating a connection between Walker and his community. Eventually, the name for the section where Walker and his business peaked was called "Walkerton" but there was already a town in the province of Ontario with that name, so Walker and the other citizens settled with "Walkerville" but often referred to it as "Walkers Town".

With the growth of the distillery and the flour mill, Walker expanded the business in many ways. He began to build Walker Road in 1860, and hire many employees, such as salesmen, office workers or skilled trade workers. With this developed an increase in population in the area, especially in respects to it being centralized around the mill and distillery. On March 1, 1869, Walker’s Town established its first post office. This is when the government recognized the small hamlet as the name it is known by today, Walkerville.

Walker is recognized as the man who gave momentum to such aspects that benefited the community like trading, agricultural work, stock raising, building industries, and most importantly, inspired those who surrounded his perseverance and progressive attitudes. Walker build homes for his employees and rented them out at reasonable prices, and also created public utilities, paved the streets, and paid for and encouraged people to get an education. One of the most popular institutions Walker erected was a Methodist church in 1870. It was converted into an Anglican church in 1874, and renamed St. Mary’s, in honor of Walker’s late wife, Mary.

As mentioned, the heart of Walkerville was Walker’s distilling business, "Hiram Walker and Sons" which was established in 1858. Walker’s business created an expansion of the town that included, malt houses, cooperage, copper shop, planning mill, lumber yard, brick yard, and a ferry between Walkerville and Detroit. The trip from his house in Detroit to his businesses in Walkerville took approximately an hour and a half. Due to this, Walker decided to invest in a ferry that would travel between Detroit and Walkerville as to save time and be of assistance to the public. In 1880 he finally decided to rent a ferry that would travel from Detroit and Walkerville. The ferry he would lease was called "The Essex" which was a steam ship built in, 1858 in Walkerville. He installed a dock system on his land in Walkerville that would allow people to board the ferry. In its beginnings the ferry was not very useful for the people of Walkerville as it mainly served as a personal transportation service for Walker himself. It did not follow a set schedule and did not make very many trips on any given day. However, in the following year of 1881, a set schedule was developed and the ferry as a public service began. It was also during this year that another ferry, called "Ariel", replaced "The Essex" due to the termination of the lease.

The Pregnant-Cow Case

Walker was also a cattle breeder and was party to a famous contracts case, Sherwood v. Walker, known as "The Pregnant-Cow Case". (33 N.W. 919 (Mich. 1887).) According to the majority opinion, Walker agreed with Theodore Sherwood, a banker, to sell him a cow of distinguished ancestry known as "Rose 2d of Aberlone". The price was $80, both parties believing Rose to be sterile. When Walker discovered that she was pregnant and worth between $750 and $1,000, he refused to deliver her. Sherwood sued and prevailed in the trial court, but lost on appeal. This case illustrates the contract law rules of rescission of contract by mutual mistake. Because both parties believed they were contracting for a sterile cow, there was a mutual mistake of fact, and therefore ground for rescission. However, the dissent in the case, written by unrelated Justice Thomas Sherwood, notes that Theodore Sherwood believed that Rose "might be made to breed" and purchased her on that chance.

Philanthropy

Walker was a charitable man and donated his money throughout Detroit and the Windsor/Walkerville area. Walker spent 25 years in the church of St. Paul’s in Detroit as a vestryman. As a member of the church, he is often remembered for having donated large amounts of money to the parish community and refused to be recognized in any way. He never took any public position within the church, but continued to be the prominent fundraiser in the church for any task the community was trying to accomplish. Walker enjoyed his work within the church, and saw the community as a place that could do a lot of good work. During his time there, he met and befriended all kinds of influential people including other businessmen, doctors, and even judges. In 1874, he donated approximately $5000 worth of bread to families in Walkerville, Windsor, and Detroit. In 1887, Walker made a financial gift to found Children's Hospital of Michigan, part of the Detroit Medical Center. He donated nearly $125,000 to the Children's Free Hospital Association, and undertook the responsibility of constructing a suitable building for the Children's Hospital of Michigan. In Walker's will of 1896, he donated seven eighths of all his Detroit property "of which he might be possessed at the time of his death" to Children's Hospital of Michigan, and the remaining one eighth to Harper Hospital.

Walker built a railway costing him $20,000 because of weak transportation in the South, which had to be approved by the Detroit River Railway Company that eventually led to the laying of the railways steel in 1888. The railway extended from Walkerville, to South Harrow, to the outskirts of Kingsville. The railway had a distance of 27 miles and on April 6, 1888, the Government of Canada granted a subsidy of $118,400, beginning the construction of the railway. The expansion of this railway led to Hiram Walker and Sons business and other businesses being able to branch out as far as Ruthven, further expanding the success of Walker’s distilling company.

He also contributed towards the founding of the Detroit Art Museum.

Death

Walker had fallen ill many times since 1883. Due to his illness, he spent a lot of time at home, and on the water in Lake Erie. He often went to an island he owned, known as the Ile Aux Peche, which he sold to his daughter. He lost feeling in his right leg around 1890 due to his rheumatism and walked with a cane. In 1895, he suffered a severe paralytic stroke and lost the feeling in his legs two years later. From April 1898 until his death, he suffered two cases of congestive apoplexy. His second attack was on January 10, 1899. Walker died two days later in Detroit, Michigan, January 12, 1899. He is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.

His direct descendants are of the Julia Elizabeth (Walker) Buhl, Franklin MacFie Walker and Elizabeth Talman (Walker) Paterson families.

The news of the death of Walker took a large toll on the town. Flags were lowered, and mayor Robert Kerr made a public statement. Walker's casket remained in his residence in Detroit until the funeral took place. The Detroit News reported that family, friends and fellow co-workers visited for hours prior to the funeral service on January 14, 1899. The casket was made entirely of metal, but covered with black and massive floral decorations, which was incredibly rare for the time. The flowers were donated by Hiram Walker & Sons, along with the Children's Free Hospital.

In July 2022, in honor of Walker's 206th birthday, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens unveiled a bronze statue of Walker at Hiram Walker Parkette (Devonshire Road at Riverside Drive East).