Historical Chronology - Brandon Heritage

1882
- Brandon incorporated as a city (Butterfield, 223)
- Mayne Daly becomes the first Mayor of Brandon (McGuinness, 5)
- Population of Brandon reaches approximately 700 (Hume, ed., 13)
- First Brandon Agricultural Exhibition (McGuinness, 6)
- First issue of the Brandon Daily Sun published by Will White (McGuinness, 5)
- Brandon’s busiest location was the corner of 6th Street and Rosser (Hume, ed., 37)
- First C.P.R. depot built on the north side of the intersection of 6th Street and Pacific Avenue (McGuinness, 5)
- Construction of the first Central School on the west side of the 100 block of 10th Street; sold to Hughes & Co. in 1905; later converted to the Strathcona Block (McGuinness, 29)
- Construction of the Royal, Brandon and Queen’s hotels (McGuinness, 4)
- Opening of the Grand Central Hotel (Hume, ed., 37)
1883
- Economic depression in Canada (Buttterfield, 224)
- Brandon Board of Trade established (Butterfield, 224)
- Farmer’s Protective Union established; first meeting held in Brandon (Butterfield, 224)
- The first "Crystal Palace" display building was constructed in the centre of the Exhibition Grounds; a two-storey octagonal structure designed by T. Timewell and Company, a Brandon architectural firm (Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Recreation, Display Building Number II, Brandon, 9)
- Construction of St.Joseph’s Academy near St.Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church (McGuinness, 31)
- Construction of the Bank of British North America on the southwest corner of 10th Street and Rosser Avenue; later became the Olympia Cafe; destroyed by a fire in 1953; Fire Captain Fred J. Brown lost his life fighting the fire, on the eve of his retirement (McGuinness, 101)
1884
- Brandon, along with the surrounding municipalities of Cornwallis, Elton, Daly, Whitehead and Glenwood incorporated as the County of Brandon, with the city as the judicial centre (Province of Manitoba, 1-5); the county government did not last very long, being dismantled the same year (McFadden, 20)
- Construction of the Crystal Palace display building for the Brandon exhibition; destroyed by a tornado in 1904 and rebuilt the same year; destroyed by fire in 1930 (McGuinness, 36)
- Construction of the first Brandon Courthouse on Louise Avenue East and Rideau Street; operated until 1908; Provincial Gaol until 1979; now part of the Rideau Park Personal Care Home (McGuinness, 33)
1885
- Completion of the C.P.R. (Hume, ed., 15)
- Bountiful grain harvest in the Brandon area (McGuinness, 7)
- Six grain elevators in Brandon (McGuinness, 7)
- Professional baseball comes to Brandon (Coleman, 66)
1886
- End of the economic depression in Canada (Butterfield, 224)
- Brandon became known as the Horse Capital of Canada (McGuinness, 6)
- Rosser Avenue overtakes 6th Street to become the dominant street in Brandon (Coleman, 41)
1887
- Brandon Federal Experimental Farm established (Butterfield, 224)
- Construction of the C.P.R. station on the south side of Pacific Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets (Hume, ed., 57)
1888
- Establishment of the Brandon Electric Light Company gave the city its first electric lights (Everitt and Stadel, 66)
1889
- Disastrous fire in the Central Business District destroyed many buildings (Hume, ed., 13)
- As reported by the provincial government, Brandon led the world as a centre for the delivery of grain from farmers' wagons (McGuinness, 7)
- Between one and two million bushels of wheat were sold in the city (Everitt and Stadel, 67)
- Brandon receives its second nickname, The Wheat City (McGuinness, 7)
- Construction begins on the on the Postal, Customs and Inland Revenue Building on Rosser Avenue; demolished in the 1970s (Coleman, 44)
1890
- First catalogue published by Brandon nursery owner Henry Lewis Patmore (McGuinness, 7)
- Construction of the Fraser Building (now the Chrest Block) on Rosser Avenue (McGuinness, 111)
1891
- Brandon’s population reaches approximately 3700 (Hume, ed., 13)
- Brandon’s first City Hall and Opera House constructed by F.T. Cope on the present site of Princess Park on Princess Avenue (Hume, ed., 149)
1892
- Opening of the new Brandon Hospital (Hume, ed., 13)
- Construction of the Laplont Block on Rosser Avenue
1893
- City waterworks inaugurated (Hume, ed., 13) - Construction of the Lorne Terraces on the north side of the 1100 block of Lorne Avenue McGuinness, 114)
1896-1912
- Boom years for Manitoba (Butterfield, 224)
- Population of Brandon increases from approximately 4,000 to 14,000 (Butterfield, 224)
1896
- Clifford Sifton, a resident of Brandon, becomes Minister of the Interior under Prime Minister Sir Wilfred Laurier (Coleman, 75)
1897
- Founding of A.E. Mackenzie’s seed company (Hume, ed., 13)
1899-1902
- Boer War (Butterfield, 224)
1899
- Construction of the First Church Methodist (McGuinness, 8)
Early 1900s
- Steady economic growth and healthy real estate market in Brandon (McGuinness, 7,8)
- Trotter & Trotter Stables located on the east side of the 100 block of 6th Street; owned and operated by prominent Brandon author-businessman Beecham Trotter (McGuinness, 40)
1900
- Brandon’s population reaches approximately 5,000 (Hume, ed., 16)
- Canadian Northern Railway reaches Brandon (Everitt and Stadel, 73)
- McKenzie Seed Company’s first catalogue is produced (McGuinness, 8)
1901-11
- Boom years for the city; total population increased by 146 percent (Everitt and Stadel, 80)
1901
- Construction of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church on the corner of 8th Street and Lorne Avenue; later became St.Paul’s United Church in 1925 and the Central United Church in 1969; consumed by fire in 1986; rebuilt in 1988 (McGuinness, 115)
1902
- Construction of the Yukon Block on Rosser Avenue
1903
- Official decree from City Council that all houses must be numbered (McGuinness, 10)
- William Muir operated the first horseless carriage in Brandon (Hume, ed., 110)
- Caledonian Rink was built on the southeast corner of 10th Street and Princess Avenue using wood from the Handbury Mill; built by Murdoch McKenzie and William Hopper at a cost of approximately $85,000 (McGuinness, 8)
- Construction of the Aagard Cafe at 29 8th Street; operated until 1923 when it was replaced by the Oak Theatre; which became the Towne Cinema; the building was vacated in 1998 ( McGuinness, 81)
1904
- The original "Crystal Palace" display building on the Exhibition Grounds was destroyed by a windstorm; the "Industrial Building", (also known as Display Building Number I and the "Crystal Palace") designed by Brandon architect W.A. Elliot, was constructed to replace the original display building (Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Recreation, Display Building Number II, 9,10)
- Construction of the Park School on the south side of Lorne Avenue, between 14th and 15th Streets; demolished in 1978 (McGuinness, 108)
- Immigration Hall built near the corner of 12th Street and Pacific Avenue; used as an infirmary during the 1918 flu epidemic; used as a hostel in the 1930’s for unemployed people who were traveling the country looking for work; finally served as a storage shed; later moved to 5th Street and Pacific Avenue where it’s original foundation stones were used in the new location (Hume, ed., 59)
- Brandon loses to Ottawa in the Stanley Cup finals (Hume, ed., 17)
1906
- Great Northern Railway reaches Brandon (Everitt and Stadel, 77)
- McKenzie Seed Company builds a six storey structure on the corner of 9th Street and Pacific Avenue (McGuinness, 8)
1907
- First Labour Day celebrations in Brandon (Hume, ed., 16)
- Construction of the Brandon Collegiate Institute; later converted and expanded to form the New Era elementary school (McGuinness, 91)
1908
- Construction of the Provincial Courthouse at 11th Street and Princess Avenue (Hume, ed., 54)
- Construction of the second bridge to be built over the Assiniboine River and the C.P.R. tracks at 1stStreet (McGuinness, 49)
- Local C.P.R. strike (Hume,16)
1909
- Brandon’s first taxi service was established by the Dennison Brothers; it offered a choice of transportation - an auto or a horse-drawn vehicle (McGuinness, 50)
1910
- Hospital for the Insane on the north hill destroyed by fire (McGuinness, 10)
- Six movie theatres operating in Brandon (Hume, ed., 18)
- Construction of the Reno Hotel, 1280 Rosser Avenue; converted into the Belvedere Apartments in 1918; only building remaining in Brandon completely faced with bricks from the Brandon Sand Brick Company; presently condemned and awaiting demolition (McGuinness, 109)
1911
- Mayor Fleming drives in the first spike of the Brandon Street Railway north of the intersection of 10th Street and Rosser Avenue (Hume, ed., 43)
1912
- Inaugural run of the first street car of the Brandon Street Railway (McGuinness, 11)
- Construction of the Prince Edward Hotel at the southwest corner of 9th Street and Princess Avenue at a cost of approximately $500,000; faced with brick imported from Belgium; the original furnishings ordered for the hotel went down with the Titanic; demolished in 1980 (Hume, ed., 48, 49)
1913
- Last Dominion Fair in Canada held in Brandon (Hume, ed., 51)
- Brandon architectural firm of Walter H. Shillinglaw and David Marshall designed the Grandstand, Cattle Barn, Poultry Building, and Display Building Number II on the Exhibition Grounds in preparation for the Dominion Fair; the Grandstand, Cattle Barn, and Poultry Building were demolished in the mid-1970's (Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Recreation, Display Building Number II, 13,14)
- No.1 Fire Hall constructed on the northeast corner of 7th Street and Princess Avenue (McGuinness, 64)
- Construction of the Normal School on Queens Avenue; presently the Agricultural Extension Centre (Hume, ed., 77)
1914
- Beginning of World War I (Butterfield, 224)
- Brandon’s population reaches approximately 17,000 (Hume, ed., 19)
- First structure built for the winter fair on 10th Street between Victoria and McTavish Avenues, attached to the Wheat City Arena (McGuinness, 70)
1915
- Election of the first woman to public office in Brandon (Hume, ed., 20)
- End of the real estate boom in Brandon (McGuinness, 9)
1916
- Compulsory education comes into effect (Butterfield, 224)
- Women earn the right to vote in the Manitoba provincial election (Hume, ed., 20)
- Purchase and consumption of alcohol declared illegal in Manitoba (Hume, ed., 20)
- Ukrainian immigrants built a hall called the Ukrainian National Home at 1133 Stickney Avenue in the Assiniboine Flats; a new National Home was built on the original site in 1969 (Hume, ed., 155)
1917
- McLaren School built on 2nd Street in the south end; later moved to the Exhibition Grounds in 1928 (Hume, ed., 123)
1918
- End of World War I (Hume, ed., 20)
- Major flu epidemic in Brandon following the end of the war; all public affairs were cancelled; Brandon Collegiate was used as an emergency treatment centre (McGuinness, 12)
- Brandon’s population declines to approximately 14,000 (Hume, ed., 19)
1919
- Civil workers unrest from May 1-6; main issue was low wages; workers left their posts again a week later in sympathy with the Winnipeg General Strike (McGuinness, 13)
1920
- Caledonian Rink demolished (McGuinness, 9)
- Tragic fire at the Royal North West Mounted Police horse barns at 11th Street and Victoria Avenue; 31 horses perished; two men suffered injuries (Hume, ed., 184)
1921-31
- Brandon’s total population grew by 10.9 percent (Everitt and Stadel, 80)
1922
- Approximately 1,400 vehicles were registered in the city (Everitt and Stadel, 80)
- Brandon teachers controversy after refusing to take a 25 percent pay cut (brought about by the poor economic state of the city); almost all the teaching staff were dismissed and then all administration quite; many teachers relocated to Winnipeg (McGuinness, 14)
1923
- End of Prohibition (Hume, ed., 20)
1924
- Economy begins to improve (Hume, ed., 22)
1928
- First radio service established by CKX, owned by Manitoba Telephones (McGuinness, 15)
1929
- Lengthy drought; beginning of the Great Depression (Hume, ed., 23)
1930
- The "Industrial Building", (also known as Display Building Number I and the "Crystal Palace") , built in 1904 on the Exhibition Grounds, was destroyed by fire; some of the building's wood was salvaged and used as flooring in the Automobile Building on the Exhibition Grounds (McGuinness, 36)
- Opening of the refurbished Strand Theatre on 8th Street (McGuinness, 14)
- Construction of the Brandon General Post Office, northeast corner of 11th Street and Princess Avenue (McGuinness, 103)
- Miniature golf arrives in Brandon (McGuinness, 14)
1932
- City workers remove streetcar rails (McGuinness, 16)
- Brandon's first bus service started by the MacArthur Company (McGuinness, 16)
1933
- Mysterious murder of David J. "Peanuts" Wilshaw, janitor and messenger for the Dominion Bank; stabbed in his home at 257-11th Street; the murder was never solved (McGuinness, 23)
1935
- The city was forced to consider the possibilities of bankruptcy, repudiation of its debts and the surrendering of financial control to the provincial government (Clark, 156)
- Construction of the 8th Street Bridge (McGuinness, 18)
1936
- Provincial government appoints a provincial supervisor for the city while the mayor and council continued in office with limited spending powers (Clark, 136)
1937
- In July, 4000 transients were being fed twice daily at the hostel at Fifth Street and Pacific Avenue (McGuinness, 18)
1939
- Beginning of World War II
1941-61
- Rapid increase in population growth; 28,166 persons living in Brandon by 1961 (Everitt and Stadel, 81)
1945
- End of World War II
- Major addition to the McKenzie Seeds building

Historical Chronology for the City of Brandon