The Dominion Seed House is recognized as one of Halton Hills' most historic and important businesses. Operating in Georgetown from approximately 1928 to 1994, it was once the largest mail order seed business in Canada. It was founded by William Freeman Bradley.

 

William Freeman Bradley was born in 1886 to parents James and Isabelle Bradley. His father was a millwright who bought two hundred acres on the south-east side of Georgetown and called it Cedar Vale Farm. Bradley was one of ten children. He grew up on the farm, growing raspberries and strawberries for market gardening. In 1919, he married Alexandrina Robertson and together they had a daughter, Margaret.

 

Bradley worked as a teller at the Georgetown branch of the Bank of Hamilton, then tried his hand at farming for a time before starting the Bradley-Edwards Electric Company in 1922 with business associate Roy Edwards. The electric company was Bradley's first foray into the mail order business. Although the Bradley-Edwards Electric Company was successful with the popular Bee Line products it carried, in just a few years, Bradley would have an idea that would truly put his name on the map.

 

In January of each year, the electric company would go through a slow period and Bradley would need to lay off staff until business picked up again. To keep staff on during these slow periods, he needed something to keep them busy. Bradley created his first catalogue for mail-order seeds that covered four pages: two with vegetable seeds and two with flower seeds. The first year was a success, much to Bradley's surprise, with the seed business grossing $20,000 in its first year. A project to keep staff busy was now a promising pursuit.

 

The seed business became so popular that Bradley moved the general manager of the electric company, Phares Lymburner Vannatter, to being the general manager of seeds. Although Vannatter was originally more into mechanics, he jumped right into the seed business and soon, he and Bradley were all in. Bradley reported that in the beginning, he would be at work by 5:30 a.m. to learn all he could about the seeds and running a business based on them.

 

When Bradley and Dominion Seed House were featured in Maclean's magazine, he was described as "a stocky man with short-clipped white hair whose eyes light up at the mention of the tuberous-rooted begonia and whose chief hobby is taking colored movies of the flowers whose seed he dispenses."
His passion for his business could never be overstated.

 

The first Dominion Seed House building on Maple Avenue was built in 1933. The mock-Tudor building that the seed house would become known for was built in 1936. The seed business was well underway and flourishing in the 1930s, despite the depression taking place. Around this time, it was clear that the seed business would prove more popular than the electric company, and so the Bradley-Edwards Electric Co. was slowly eased out of business.

Expansion continued with the farm foreman's house built in 1938 and the greenhouses also built during this time period. Additional buildings and expansions were built in 1942 and onwards.

 

Dominion stood apart from other seed companies for a variety of reasons. Dominion's business was based entirely on mail orders, not selling in grocery or hardware stores like most other companies. They also stood out with the interesting and sometimes unusual seeds that gardeners would have trouble buying elsewhere. Bradley was dedicated to finding new plant varieties to grow and often spent his summers travelling with his wife to seek out new offerings. The effort paid off, as Dominion made connections with farmers and plant breeders around the world.

 

Dominion's catalogues also helped the company earn quite a reputation. Although the catalogues themselves were nothing new as a way of marketing and taking orders, Dominion's catalogue acted as their only salesperson. The main catalogue would go out in January of each year, marking the beginning of busy season. The seed catalogues and their contents were likened to science fiction because of the uncommon plant varieties that Dominion brought in.

 

Bradley was able to see the success of his business for many years until his death in November 1953. His death impacted not only the business, but also the local community as he was a very active member in both church and community events. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Georgetown. His widow, Alexandrina Bradley, continued to run the business with Pharres Vannatter. Upon Mrs. Bradley's retirement, their daughter, Margaret Harding, took over. Despite losing its founder, the business continued to bloom.

 

An official company was formed with officers, and business continued to thrive under the leadership of several managers, including Phares Vannatter, Bill Kay and Doug Peck. By 1988, they reported having 25 permanent staff members, but in busy season, they would have up to 100 workers helping keep up with demand.

 

Despite its growth, the quality and personal touch often associated with small businesses remained. Seed orders continued to pile in each year, sometimes in the hundreds on a single day during peak times, and business expanded to more than just seeds, with other gardening tools and essentials sold as well. For a time, Dominion Seed House had their own postal station to keep up with demand.

 

An average of 200,000 catalogues were shipped out each year throughout the 1970s and 1980s, proving just how popular they were. In 1981, Dominion Seed House was named Georgetown's Business of the Year. A Garden Centre was built in 1987. Then 1988 the company celebrated its 60th anniversary. The Georgetown Herald ran a special in the newspaper to celebrate, featuring interviews with Margaret Harding, Doug Peck and other employees. Dominion also hosted their own anniversary garden party with a live band and wagon rides.

 

The 1990s started with a recession and later a postal strike that affected Dominion Seed House's business. Despite this, owner Margaret Harding reassured customers of their commitment to quality and introduced business changes to keep up with changing demands. However, in 1993, the business was sold to Perron Seeds, a Quebec company, and the garden centre was closed in 1994. The business continued out of a different location.

 

Although the iconic mock-Tudor building was torn down and the land was developed, Dominion Seed House's legacy was honoured by the work of dedicated community groups. In 1995 members of the Georgetown chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) pitched an idea to create a public garden on the site of the old seed house. CFUW was able to successfully lobby for the creation of the garden and hard work began to see its creation complete. Fundraising, workshops and planning committees were held. The Old Seed House Garden officially opened in June 2003 thanks to the dedicated work of the Friends of the Old Seed House Garden.