Why is Toronto called 'Hogtown?'

shuttlebunny

The best answer I found seems to be that it used to be a very industrialized city. Therefore, it was a 'pig sty'. Check out this url... http://www.thestar.com/thestar/static/history/history.html Oct 19 00, 8:20 PM

McGruff

Ever wonder why Toronto is nicknamed "Hogtown" or meat processors "packers?" Urban historian and Toronto Sun columnist Mike Filey says according to one theory Hogtown got its name from a bylaw imposing a 10-cent-a-pig fine on anyone allowing pigs to run in the streets. A more likely explanation, Filey says, can be found on Front St. East, where the old William Davies Company used to operate the second largest pork processing plant on the continent back in the 1860s. The buildings near the mouth of the Don River just east of downtown are under demolition today, but in their heyday founder William Davies, an English emigré who started out selling hams at the St. Lawrence Market, shipped millions of pounds of pork products. In the days before refrigeration, pork was "packed" in brine - hence the term "packers." In 1874, Davies expanded yet again, incorporating slaughter and processing operations. He added refrigeration in the early 1900s. In 1927, the William Davies Company became part of Canada Packers, which farmers know today as Maple Leaf Foods. http://www.agpub.on.ca/pork/apr98/div1.htm Apr 04 04, 5:19 AM