O 0 J: "d 8, ?^ 1832 -- //e/iry Cor^v arrived in Canada from England at age 26. He established a small bakery and food shop in Belleville. After serving during the 1837 Rebellion, he sold his bakery and bought a St. Lawrence steamer, the "Queen", which he operated for four years. 1857 -- Corby's involvement in buying and selling grain led to the establishment of a grist mill on the banks of the Moira River. He soon began making his own brand of whiskey for local consumption, as a sideline to the milling operation. By 1859 the distillery became equal in importance to the mill. 1881 -- Henry Corby died at the age of 75. He held several distinguished positions in the community: mayor of Belleville, he was named to the board of police commissioners, became captain of the local fire fighting company, and was elected a Liberal member of provincial parliament for the area. 1905 -- Henry Corby Jr., who inherited the business from his father, sold the H. Corby Distillery Company to tobacco salesman Mortimer Davis for $1 million. 1907 -- A major fire destroyed most of the buildings. Davis immediately rebuilt. 1914 -- Corby's Distillery merged with J.P. Wiser's distillery in Prescott. 1939 -- y/ar interrupted the production, but once peace returned the barrels began rolling at the distillery. I960 -- Canadian whiskey producers had a boom time, with sales increasing at a rate of 10 per cent per year until about 1980. 1981 -- Sales of domestic spirits decreased by an astounding 46 per cent for reasons that included everything from an aging population to high taxes. 1991 -- The plant in Corbymile was shut down at the cost of about 170 jobs. Production and bottling work now takes place at Hiram Walker plants in Windsor, Ontario, in Kelowna British Columbia and at the Corby-owned plant de Kuyper Canada in Quebec. 2000 -- The 186-dcre Belleville site is put up for sale.