In 1886, the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway yards in Smiths Falls, Ontario created some incredible business opportunities. Matthew Ryan was a local carpenter who took advantage of the situation to make his fortune. He quickly branched out to become a dealer in lumber and shingles, a manufacturer of brick, a contractor, a buyer and seller of real estate, an ice dealer, a Board of Trade representative, a Smiths Falls town councillor, and a racetrack owner.

Matthew Ryan was born on October 5, 1856, in Smiths Falls, Ontario. The 1871 census indicates that he was the youngest of seven children born to Roman Catholic parents. The family had recently immigrated from Ireland, and his parents could neither read nor write. His father Mathew, and older brother James, supported the family of nine by working as labourers. Matthew was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go to school. The 1881 census indicates that Matthew was a carpenter at 24. A decade later, Matthew Ryan was documented as living with his wife, Mary Ann (Shanks) Ryan, two children, and a “domestic”. His profession was listed as carpenter and builder of homes, and he had 60 employees.

Ryan did not just build brick houses—he manufactured brick. The 1884-5 Ontario Gazetteer and Business Directory includes a listing for Ryan & Allen and describes Matthew Ryan and Herbert Allen as “Brick Makers”. Their brickyard was on the southwest bank of the Rideau below Old Slys Rapids. Although Allen was the stone mason and bricklayer in this partnership, Ryan is the one who made the headlines. In 1929, The Rideau Record wrote “Ryan bricks really built Smiths Falls. Ryan bricks are in practically every building of this type in the town of Smiths Falls. His brickyard, it is conceded, resulted in the erection of many “fire-proof” homes and incidentally in the lowering of local insurance rates.”

Matthew Ryan was a highly coveted contractor during his glory years in Smiths Falls. He frequently collaborated with the high-profile architect George Thomas Martin. Ryan’s impressive list of accomplishments includes numerous private homes, the Smiths Falls Firehall and Hose Tower, St. Francis de Sales School, Malleable Iron Works Foundry, Wood’s Mill, St. Andrew’s Church, Carleton Place Town Hall, modifications to Saint John the Evangelist Church and the Smiths Falls Public Market.