ALEXANDRIA, Ontario – The Township of North Glengarry was pleased to unveil two new plaques today to commemorate the importance of John D. McIntosh and Hugh Munro to the Town of Alexandria.
Mr. John D. McIntosh and Mr. Hugh Munro were partners in the Munro and McIntosh Sleigh and Carriage Company, which operated from 1880 to 1920 and brought prosperity to Alexandria and surrounding Glengarry County. At its peak, before the First World War, Munro and McIntosh employed more than 200 people and produced more than 10,000 sleighs and carriages each year.
Hugh Munro was a well-travelled “super salesman” for the firm and lived at 18 St. George Street, in Alexandria for 56 years, from 1880 to 1936. The quieter McIntosh ran the highly efficient factory, found time to serve on the Alexandria town council, and lived at 25 St. George Street, in Alexandria for 28 years, from 1886 to 1914.
Both Munro and McIntosh were among the founders of the Glengarry News, in 1892 and were major contributors to the construction on the Church on the Hill in 1912. The nominations for these Blue Plaques were put forward by Alexandria resident Dane Lanken, with the support of the property owners Nicole and Martin Besner at 18 St. George Street East and Shahnaz Kousar at 25 St. George Street East in Alexandria.
