As Bruce County prepares to welcome the International Plowing Match & Rural Expo back to Walkerton, we’re looking back at a Tara inventor whose plows and fanning mills helped put local ingenuity on the world stage.
Long before today’s competitors fine-tuned their plows for match conditions, farmers could turn to a Bruce County maker with an international reputation: William Augustus “W.A.” Gerolamy of Tara. Part inventor, part manufacturer, part merchant, Gerolamy built a business that connected local farms, world fairs, railway lines, lake steamers, and community life.
A Local Workshop with Big Ambitions
Born in Prince Edward County in 1831, Gerolamy arrived in Tara in the 1850s and began working in a modest fanning mill shop connected to his Tobey relatives. What began as a small family-linked enterprise grew into something much larger. By 1867, Gerolamy had purchased the business, and by 1869 he had opened a foundry on Yonge Street South in Tara. (Those familiar with the area, may know one of the buildings as the Trelford Automobile building, demolished in December 2024). Skilled machinist Zene Williamson was foundry partner from 1875-1881 and foreman until 1905.
Local historian Bruce Miller later described Gerolamy as an “inventive genius.” It is easy to see why. In an era when farmers relied on dependable tools to clear land, plant crops, harvest grain, and prepare feed, Gerolamy looked for ways to make those tools work better.
The Fanning Mill that Travelled the World
Gerolamy’s best-known innovation was an improved fanning mill, a machine used to clean grain by separating seed from chaff and other material. In 1868, he received a Canadian patent for improvements that included the use of perforated zinc sieves. The result was not only practical—it was impressive enough to win attention far beyond Bruce County.
His Exhibition Fanning Mill was built to be seen as well as used: bird’s-eye maple, ash and walnut trim, silver-plated ironwork, patented zinc sieves, an elevator, and an improved bagging apparatus. Gerolamy’s work earned recognition at major exhibitions from 1876 to 1900 in Philadelphia, Sydney, Melbourne, Chicago, and Paris—a remarkable global journey for an implement made in Tara.
The Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre preserves that story through objects such as the Gerolamy exhibition fanning mill and the Paris Universal Exhibition silver medal diploma connected to his award-winning work.
Plows, Products & Parades
Gerolamy did not stop at fanning mills. His foundry and agricultural works produced ploughs, grain crushers, seeders, scufflers, cutters, feed choppers, hay equipment, and other machines that served everyday farm needs. Gerolamy sold farm machinery and vehicles made by other manufacturers, including Deering implements, the Brockville Buggy, and the Chatham Wagon. He also made competition ploughs for plowing matches – judged to be among the best in the world according to local historian Bruce Miller.
At its peak around 1900, the business catalogue listed about 50 heavy farm implements, most manufactured by the company. When Harvey Merriam began working in the foundry office around 1904, about 22 people were employed there—a significant operation for a village manufacturer. (The Archives holds notes made during a 1962 interview of Harvey by Bruce Krug)
Gerolamy also understood promotion. Each spring, he hosted a “general delivery day” for local buyers. After a meal at a Tara restaurant, the Citizens’ Band led a parade through town as new implements rolled out from the foundry. Long before modern launch events and social media campaigns, Gerolamy knew how to turn new products into a community occasion.
From Tara, Gerolamy’s products travelled across Ontario and beyond. In 1883, a newspaper reported that he was shipping fanning mills to British Columbia. The company also used sales agents and carefully planned shipping routes to reach customers across the province into areas such as Sarnia, Port Arthur, Rainy River, and Lake of the Woods.
That reach mattered. Farm equipment was a serious investment, and Gerolamy managed the risk of distant sales through liens and promissory notes. His success was not only about invention; it was also about trust, logistics, marketing, and understanding what farmers needed.
More than a Foundryman
Gerolamy’s interests stretched across Tara’s business life. He bought property, invested in the Tara Creamery, became involved in the grain trade, and ran a general store known as “The Lion” and later “The Golden Lion.” Advertisements described him as a direct importer, offering everything from clothing and groceries to glassware and farm machinery.
He was also active in community life, serving on Tara’s first village council and as a member of the Methodist Church’s first trustee board. By the time of his death in 1914, he was remembered as one of Tara’s most enterprising residents.
Like many businesses, Gerolamy’s foundry faced challenges. Problems with hay loader parts around 1905 contributed to financial losses, and the operation declined in the years that followed. Yet the surviving implements, invoices, receipts, ledgers, and awards tell a bigger story: Bruce County innovation was practical, ambitious, and connected to markets far beyond the local community.
As visitors gather for the International Plowing Match & Rural Expo in Walkerton, Gerolamy’s story offers a timely reminder: innovation has deep roots in Bruce County soil. From match ploughs to world-travelling fanning mills, his work shows how one local business could help shape agricultural progress—and how rural communities have long been places of creativity, risk-taking, and success
Gerolamy Artifacts and Records
Click Here: to view photographs and descriptions of Gerolamy records and resources
Click Here: for an Administrative History of W.A. Gerolamy businesses, with more detail.
If you have Gerolamy-related paper records, photographs, or items you would like to offer for donation, please contact us:
- archives@brucecounty.on.ca
- Research Room: 226-909-2890
Gallery Images
- Gerolamy and Williamson corn cutter, A2014.003.K-79-09-20, Bruce Krug
- Paris Universal Exhibition silver medal diploma awarded to W.A. Gerolamy, 1900, A977.014.001
W.A. Gerolamy exhibition fanning mill, X970.001.001 - W.A. Gerolamy fanning mill at 1969 auction, A2014.003.K-67-12-35 Bruce Krug
- W.A. Gerolamy receipt issued to John Pearson, February 1900, A988.033.016
- W.A. Gerolamy root pulper or feed chopper, X976.261.001
Sources
- Bloomfield, G.T. and Elizabeth Bloomfield. “Bruce County Industries, 1871 Index to Manuscript Census” University of Guelph, 1991.
- Bruce County Genealogical Society, “Arran Township,” https://brucecountygenealogicalsociety.ca/townships/arran-township/. Accessed July 21, 2025.
- Krug, Bruce A. “Harvey Merriam,” March 1, 1962 interview notes, in Arran Township Scrapbook. BCM&CC A2014.003.0547.
- Miller, Bruce A. “A history of the village of Tara, on the hundredth anniversary of the settlement, 1951.” Tara: The Tara Leader, 1951. Print.
- Miller, Bruce A. “Tara Before 1981.” Tara: Bruce A. Miller, 1980. Print.
- Robertson, Norman. “The History of the County of Bruce and of the minor municipalities therein.” Toronto: William Briggs, 1906. Third printing 1971.
- Swigger, Ric, “Locals will have noticed that the front portion of the Trelford Automobile building in Tara was demolished last week,” Facebook. December 25, 2024. Accessed July 21, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/groups/229537930948558/posts/1512814365954235/.
- Sun-Times. “W.A. Gerolamy, Tara, Won Many awards for Fanning Mills.” Sun-Times, August 23, 1952. Grey Roots Museum & Archives PF2S4F3I34.
- The Huron News Record, October 3, 1883
- The Owen Sound Times, March 9, 1893
- The Tara Leader. “Death of W.A. Gerolamy.” Tara Leader, February 12, 1914.
- The Tara Leader. “The Golden Lion: The Foundry Department” [mentioning Brockville Buggy and Chatham Wagon], May 18, 1899
- The Tara Leader “Golden Lion” advertisements November 25, 1897, September 21, 1899, April 19, 1900 August 9, 1900, October 25, 1900, December 6, 1900, and December 27, 1900
- Toronto Mail. “At the Chicago Exhibition: The Gerolamy Fanning Mill.” August 5, 1893
- W.A. Gerolamy Household, 1901 Census of Canada, North Bruce, Tara Village, ancestry.ca, accessed 2026
- W.A. Gerolamy Iron Founder and General Merchant invoice, August 26, 1906, BCM&CC AX976.059.001
- W.A. Gerolamy Iron Founder and General Merchant invoice, August 26, 1906, BCM&CC AX976.059.001
- W.A. Gerolamy receipt to John Pearson, February 19, 1900, BCM&CC A988.030.016
