Europeans who settled previously unpopulated and unexploited regions of the world during the 18th and 19th centuries of the world had two economic alternatives: subsistence activities or the production of primary goods for export. In general the latter prevailed and the landscape and economy were transformed. This study examines industrial growth in Southern Ontario, one of the most economically successful regions, from 1851-1891, a period when primary activities were still very important but also when today's industrial structure was clearly being shaped. Economists, geographers, and those in related fields will welcome this approach which unites regional economic growth theory, and an empirical examination of distributional and structural change in manufacturing, in a general explanation of the spatial development of manufacturing that is relevant to all export-based regions.