06/15/2026
Some cool history of broom making in Southern Ontario, Canada. This post tells us about the Norwich Broom company that started to produce brooms in Norwich, Ontario in 1893.
The post mentions the Thomas Broom Company who moved to St. Thomas in 1902. The company was operated by 5 brothers in St. Thomas from 1905, however operations ceased at the factory by 1916.
The family emigrated to Canada from Germany, moved to Norwich and settled in St. Thomas, and they built their life there. Unfortunately, due to the times they were operating in, and the family being of German descent, the community and businesses turned away from them. Because of them being ostracized by their own community, they abandoned the business within 2 years of the start of World War One.
The story of Norwich broom making begins in 1893, when E.H. Thomas, owner of a seed corn warehouse, hired his first broom maker. In 1895, he bought the old Norwich Public School on Stover Street and began the renovations that would transform it into a broom factory.
The local conditions supported broom making. Beech and hard maple grew locally for the broom handles. The local railway line meant that broom corn and equipment could be brought into town. In 1899, Mr. Thomas travelled the CPR line west promoting his business all along the way.
Pictured here are bundles of brooms ready for delivery from the Broom Factory in 1900.
The Thomas Company left Norwich in 1902 for St. Thomas. The specific reasons remain unknown. The Norwich Broom and Brush Company stood on Main Street from 1903 to 1905. When this company ceased to function, George West, Edward John Taylor, and John Bickle joined together to form the West, Taylor & Bickle Company.
This new broom company operated out of a single story red-brick building on the corner of Avery's Lane and Main Street, pictured here. In their first few years in Norwich West, Taylor & Bickle survived cash-flow problems, a fire, and massive growth. By 1910, 40,000 brooms were produced annually. In 1921 George Lees became manager, and from 1922 to 1931 West, Taylor & Bickle was credited with being the largest broom factory in British Empire. During the Depression, the company grew as it absorbed the accounts of closing Ontario broom factories, although production slowed during World War II as workers moved to factories supporting the war effort.
The Nor-Witch logo, also pictured here, was patented in 1934 and remained the company logo even after the company changed hands in the 1950s. Stuart-House, the new owners, dispensed with the home town management in favour of a more corporate style. In 1967, they started making curling brooms. The Broom Factory closed its doors in 1982, but its legacy lives on the display at Norwich Museum.
