Some New Toronto residents are trying to save the iconic Campbell Soup 200-foot smokestack from being demolished in March.

The destruction of historic smokestacks, some more than 100-years-old, which represents part of our industrial past, have always been a popular pastime for area residents to witness.

The last smokestack that was taken down was in 1990 when the massive stack at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Plant came crashing to the ground after more than 70 years of service.  The plant was constructed in 1917.

At one time, the U.S.-based company was manufacturing 50 per cent of all the auto tires in Canada and it was a leader in the tire industry for more than 60-years.

It was no wonder that Goodyear ex-workers and fans from across the city turned out more than 31-years-ago this month to witness history when that smokestack was brought to the ground with explosives.

Another major removal was in 2006 with the explosion of the four stacks, dubbed the Four Sisters, at the Lakeview Generating Station, in Port Credit, which was built in 1958.

The impressive four stacks were each 500 feet, or 150 metres tall and could be seen on the lakefront for miles.

Then Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion joined dozens of city residents at McMillan Headland Park to watch as the historic smokestacks fell to the ground like thunder.

Now that workers have begun flattening the former Campbell Soup site, at 60 Birmingham Ave., residents are talking about the giant smokestack.

Some residents would like to keep the stack and have written letters to the developer without success. Other residents say they are concerned by the noisy truck traffic that the warehouses will bring.

Some have taken to social media to make plans to try and save the smokestack as others try to find a good spot to capture images of the crash.

Officials of QuadReal Development, the developers of the site, confirmed that the stack will be demolished in March.

Campbell’s Soup has hired generations of families and purchased crops from many in the area.

The stack has stood over the sprawling 18.8-acre site since the plant was opened in November 1931.

Some long-time residents are concerned that it is the last-surviving major smokestack in the area and brings and end of the industrial era in New Toronto, during a time with powerhouses as Goodyear Tire and Rubber, Anaconda Steel and other multi-national companies.

It was a bittersweet moment for many who on the one hand were happy to see an end to what was considered the most significant single source of pollution for the GTA, but on the other hand were saying goodbye to a piece of the city’s history and landmarks.