HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-06-30, Page 46• -
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Goderich Board of Trade a
century ago boasted nearly 40
members, mostly merchants
on the Square, but including a
salt manufacturer, a ship
owner, a broker and a couple
of -insurance agents: The list
of members in 1875 also gave,
in many cases,•their business
locations.
It was headed by the name
of Col. A.M. Ross, managerof
the Canadian Bank of
Commerce branch, county
treasurer, member of the
Legislature and subsequently
provincial treasurer Next
was F Finlay. Bank of
Montreal manager.
Then follow the merchants*
Christopher crabh,
Deklor, Wiiliam Savage,
William Kay (West St. at.the
Square), T.M: Shephar4,
grocer, George
druggist in the IfiaNia-,
block; Henry Horton:
groceries and lititicirsi.
Hamilton St. at the Square;
Fred Robertson-, ship owner;
A. McD1 Allan, instrance;
J.V. Detlor, Jr., merchant;
Major Fran it Jordan,
druggist; ,_Ben. J. Crofts, dry
d •W R RObiitson
general merchant; HenO„.0,
Trull (not .identified); ugg,
C." Titnilop - merchant tailor*
Dawson .Keri' hardware
merchant; Henry Cooke,
groceries nntV,
William Campbell,..ahnair,
merchant; Ge�. Grant,.
11!"9cer;,ViT.:Wels110004:
Robert McKay, merchant;
Daniel Gordon, furmture
dealer; jtihn..StorY,.stove
dealer and-tinsinith,-,Peo., B..
broker;Richard
Radcliffe, insurance agent;
E. Bingham, Merchantrli.V.
merchant, Colborne St.
at the Square; John. Vogler,
mer-
chant;
JamesSaunders,
books
street; N,Z. , ro: and
t;
tinware; John
• .‘;
Sturdy,
WlUjgzn Hhlilard,
Piper's Dam: Wm.
:#13e!r!!.:f;itfrtnGa:Cirtimuotraeagnnee:'
Hut
• •
foundry; Geo. H. Parson,
hardware;. ?inie "Watson,
insuranceagent Horace
Horton, real estate and vessel
owner,ucen
trstalipge6nrt CompanyBurcnand
B
Bruce Sully home was site
•
• First -bank • opon:....044..1
In its century and a half,
Goderich has been served by
at least ten chartered _banks,
of which five remain, plus a
trust company, the Victoria
and Grey. One of the five, the
Bank of Montreal, was first to
open an 'agency" here; the
settle,ment was only 16 years
old and the Bank only 26. It
set up shop on West Street in
1843.
The Bank of Upper Canada,
called "child of the Family
Compact," was chartered in
1821 and opened an agency in
charge of Sheriff John
Macdonald before acquiring
from the Canada Company
the Cobourg Street site on
which it erected. the. large +
brick residence now owned by
Bruce Sully. The Bank in 1863
followed business up West
Street, »but stopped payment
in 1866, just as Goderich was
being proclaimed. "the salt
emporium of North
America." Established here
at various times and sub-
sequently absorbed in
mergers were the Royal
Canadian Bank, Sovereign,
Sterling and Standard.
The» Canadian Bank of
Commerce branch here,
opened June 27, 1869, was its'
, tenth branch in Canada. The
site is now occupied by the
Simpson mail order office;
the Bank has been long
established at the corner of
Colborne street and the
Square, and has added
Imperial to the name. The
Royal Bank of Canada, ex-
panding its facilities at
Hamilton Street and the
Square, is next longest in
town, followed by the Bank of
Nova Scotia and the Toronto -
Dominion, the latter at
Suncoast Mall.
There are conflicting ac-
counts of the Bank of Mon-
treal first building here, both
published in the Signal -Star,
in 1943 and 1961 issues. The
1961 account states that the
Bank established, an agency
m a small two-storey frame
building at the top of harbor
hill "in a building owned by
the Canada Company which
was situated on the present
site of the Park House." y
The year given is 185Y,
whereas the Park House was
built about 1840, so that
version need take up no
further space.
According to Registry 4
Office records, the Bank of'
Montreal, located first at'the
northeast corner of West and
Wellington, which would
hardly be described as the
"top of harbor hill." In the
beginning, James Elliott of
Goderich township bought the
quarter -acre lot from the
Canada Company and built
there a tavern.
In 1843 he was in financial
difficulty, .and by virtue of a
writ of execution thipr erty
was sold by Sheriff 7lenry»,
Hyndman to William Jones
Geary,» a contractor and
stagecoach operator, for 140
pounds sterling. At that price,
it is evident that he got a
building, presumably the
tavern. Oa Feruary 2, 1848,
he sold the property to the
Bank of Montreal. Published
accounts agree that the Bank
established an agency in
1853; evidently it acquired the
lot five years in advance.
Disturbing the smooth
course o'f history at this point
is a Registry entry showing
that in the same year, 1853,,
the Bank sold Lot 15 (now
numbered 986) to John
Macdonald, sheriff of Huron
District from 1847. The
agency was made ar,branch in
1880, and it is stated .that it
then removed to the two-
storey red brick building on
the north side of West street,
a half-dozen door* from the
Square.
But the Hank of Upper
Canada, wheh it moved up-
town, bought lots fronting on
West street in 1863. After this
Bank's failure, Thomas Galt.
and William Cayley sold the
;.roperty to the Bank of
tIntreal in 1870, and it
probably moved in then.
Otherwise, it would have been
.1 tenant at Wellington street
for 27» years! The fact is that
the assessment rolls show Lot
998 in the names qf successive
Bank of Montreal managers
from 1866, the year the Bank
of Upper Canada closed here.
First agent of the Bank of
Montreal here »was Thomas
Mercer Jones, the ap-
pointment coinciding with the
10
140"..14‘1,1Vat4 e•i!'"'" 4411,44.4,,,',APWA';;" "A.Z,N; 4,
termination of his em-
ployment as Canada Com-
pany commissioner. He
occupied the post for four
years. until 1857, when he ran
unsuccessfully , for the
Legislative Council. He was
followed by » Henry McCut-
cheon-,- F. W. Thomas, W.
Richardson, J. H. Finlay, who
was mayor of Goderich, and
C. R. Dunsford, who was last
agent and first manager.
Four managers later, in the
time of W. L. Eliot, the Bank
•
moved in 1905 » to new Canada and later mana
premises at West street and the Royal Canadian
the Square, built for it by branch. Ross was
George Acheson. A new currently county tre
and was active in
'capacities, such as
Colonel in the militia, b
was manager of, the:,
merce until he tee
Provincial Treasurer,
movedlo Toronto in',
successor was R. S. Wil
who had a long tenure
retirement. He die
Toronto in 1922.
building was provided again
in 1966, at East street and the
Square.
The other bank which has
been here more than a cen-
tury, the Commerce, chose
for first managei Alexander
M. Ross, • who had. been a •
clerk with the Bank of Upper.
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