HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-05-17, Page 7Wednesday, May 17, 2017 • Signal Star 7
The Goderich Bank of Commerce
In 1867, the Canadian
Bank of Commerce
was founded in
Toronto. Three years
later, on June 27, 1870,
the Goderich branch of
the Bank of Commerce
was chartered with Colo-
nel Alexander M. Ross as
its first manager. The
Goderich agency was
only the 11th.branch for
the new bank to be
founded.
Locally, the Bank of
Commerce bought out
the failed Royal Canadian
Bank and set up its origi-
nal location in the Kay
Block on the Square near
West Street (the OPP
building is located there
today).
Colonel Ross, the
branch manager, was
one of the most distin-
guished citizens in the
county. Known as a gen-
tleman of 'the highest
personal honour,' Ross
was the county's treas-
urer since 1858 and
commanded Huron's
33rd battalion during
the Fenian scare in 1866.
In 1883, Colonel Ross
resigned as the Bank of
Commerce's manager
when Premier Sir Oliver
Mowat appointed him
the Province of Ontario's
Treasurer.
Richard S. Williams
was appointed the
Goderich Bank of Com-
merce's second man-
ager. Williams ably
administered the bank's
assets for nearly 30
years. In 1889, the
Goderich illustrated Sig-
nal -Star described the
bank as 'very neatly and
conveniently fitted up'
and enjoyed 'a very high
degree of confidence of
our business men.'
By the 1890's, the
Huron History
David Yates
Goderich agency had
outgrown its location on
the Kay Block. A more
substantial building was
needed for the thriving
financial institution to
transact the town's busi-
ness. In 1896, the Bank of
Commerce leased the
property on the comer of
Colborne Street and the
Square known as Ball's
block. Mrs Mary Stuart's
ice cream parlour was .
razed to make way for the
new bank which prom-
ised to be 'an ornament to
the Square.'
The result was the ele-
gant red brick edifice
currently on the corner
of Colborne and the
Square. When the 'much
talked about' building
opened in November
1896, The Huron Signal
said that if any stranger
wanted to know where
the Bank of Commerce
was located that they
should 'proceed to the
Square' and 'select the
most quaintly con-
structed building.'
The two story red
pressed brick building
crowned by a small
cupola on the roof with
'semi -Gothic windows'
was declared the most
'noble structure' on the
Square. The Signal
described the 16 foot
high ceilings in the
bank area.
The Goderich Organ
Company crafted the
solid mahogany desks,
counters and other
furnishings. The polished
metal grille at the teller's
wicket and around the
counters were by made
the Dennis Wire and Iron
Company in London,
Ontario.
Other unique features
were the 'incandescent'
electric lights over the
teller's wicket and tiled
floors. The all male
bank clerks lived in the
'comfortable' apart-
ments on the second
floor. The heavy fur-
nishings and dark inte-
rior reinforced the
bank's aura as a place
where men conducted
their financial affairs in
solemn gravity.
True to its name as a
commercial bank, the
Bank of Commerce
made a specialty of
loans to farmers and
businesses. However,
the teller's wicket in the
savings department
accepted deposits of
$1.00 or more in its
'massively and solidly
constructed vault'
which also held 'the
deeds and valuables' of
bank customers. One
lone male teller (usually
the most junior clerk)
transacted the very seri-
ous business of cus-
tomer deposits and
withdrawals.
Manager Williams
received his customers
in a spacious office
heated by 'the sparking
blaze' of a coal fire-
place. Williams was
credited with 'having
full faith in the future of
the town' in advocating
the construction of the
distinctive building.
Williams was also 'an
ardent Britisher' and
loyal patriot. He owned
the brass
cannon formerly used
to summon guests at
the old Point Farm
Hotel to dinner. On
national occasions, Wil-
liams raised the flag
over the bank and fired
a blank charge from the
old brass gun in cele-
bration. Williams was
the longest serving
Bank of -Commerce
manager retiring in
1911 after 28 years in
Goderich.
As the Bank of Com-
merce expanded, 'a
nest' of safety deposit
boxes was added to the
vault in 1910. In 1929,
substantially remod-
elled its interior so that
the manager's office
was moved to the front
facing the Square. The
mahogany woodwork
and dark interior of the
Victorian Age which
gave the bank its seri-
ous, almost grim feel,
was replaced with
quarter turned oak and
whitewashed walls to
present a light and airy
appearance. A second
'teller's cage' was
added 'for use when
specially required' by
the volume of
customers.
Unthinkable before
the Great War, the Bank
of Commerce welcomed
the general public to
tour the new bank at a
grand reopening in June
1929. Civic officials
mingled with bank
executives while women
were presented with
roses. Tea was served to
the many visitors who
came for the official
opening. Later, the Bank
of.Commerce held a
dinner at the Hotel Sun-
set for town officials
and representatives of
Goderich Bank of Commerce
the area's major indus-
tries. The conservative
Canadian banking sys-
tem was becoming less
formal.
Bank managers and
their employees were
counted amongst the
town's leading citizens.
They held the purse
strings for business
loans and mortgages in
an age when credit was
difficult to obtain. Bank
employees were promi-
nent in the town's frater-
nal lodges and churches.
There was a definite
Presbyterian bias in the
bank's management. In
1945, when the Bank of
Commerce celebrated
75 years in Goderich,
five of its seven manag-
ers five were Knox
Church members. A
bronze plaque in the
front entrance proudly
proclaimed the service
of five Bank of Com-
merce employees in the
Great War. Another six
men served in the Sec-
ond World War.
Sometime in the
'A Souvenir of Goderich' (1897)
post-war period, the
distinctive cupola was
removed. In 1961, the
amalgamation of the
Imperial Bank of Can-
ada with the Bank of
Commerce brought
about a change of name
to the Canadian Impe-
rial Bank of Commerce.
In 2016, it is known sim-
ply as the CIBC. The
CIBC has been in con-
tinuous service in
Goderich for 146 years.
If Colonel Ross could
see the Goderich Bank
of Commerce today, he
might be amazed (or
shocked) to see female
bankers freely engaged
in discussing money
matters with men. He
might be even more
amazed that cash could
be dispensed from a
machine. However,
Colonel Ross might also
be pleased that the
familiar red brick build-
ing, after 120 years,
houses one of Goder-
ich's oldest and preemi-
nent financial
institutions.
goderichsignalstar.com