Key Number:	HS 38464
Site Name:	Merchants Bank of Canada
Other Names:	Bank of Montreal
Site Type:	0402 - Mercantile/Commercial: Bank

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			44	12	4

Address:	4813 - 47 Street
Number:	13
Street:	47
Avenue:	48
Other:
Town:	Sedgewick
Near Town:

Media

Type	Number	Date	View	Source

Architectural

Style:
Plan Shape:	Rectangular
Storeys:	Storeys: 2
Foundation:	Basement/Foundation Wall Material: Concrete
Superstructure:	Nailed Frame
Superstructure Cover:
Roof Structure:	Shed
Roof Cover:
Exterior Codes:
Exterior:	N/A
Interior:	N/A
Environment:	N/A
Condition:	N/A
Alterations:	N/A

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Constructed	1906/09/22
Usage:	Usage Date:
Bank	1906/09/22
Owner:	Owner Date:
The Sedgewick Historical Society

Architect:	N/A
Builder:	N/A
Craftsman:	N/A
History:	RESOURCE Old Bank of Montreal Building ADDRESS Sedgewick BUILT 1910 DESIGNATION STATUS Registered Historic Resource HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE The townsite of Sedgewick was surveyed by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1906 during the construction of its branch line from Camrose to Hardisty. The townsite immediately began to develop as a service center for the adjacent area in which settlement was stimulated by the CPR’s establishment of a number of ready-made farms. The Merchants Bank of Canada placed a branch line in Sedgewick in its very first year. This Montreal based bank was one of the most aggressive chartered banks in Canada during the boom of the 1900s, and one of the first to establish itself in the Canadian West. By 1921, when it was taken over by the Bank of Montreal, it had over four hundred branches from the Maritimes to Vancouver Island. The Sedgewick branch of the Merchants Bank of Canada opened in September 1906. J. L. Clarke, the first manager, played a variety of roles in the economic and social life of the community. In addition to being bank manager, he also served as president of the Board of Trade in 1908, 1909 and 1910 and proved up a homestead south of the town on which he specialized in raising of purebred stock. The bank occupied rented quarters until the fall of 1910, when it moved into its new building. The upper storey of the building served as the manger’s residence. In 1921, ownership of the property was transferred to the Bank of Montreal which occupied the building until 1976. The Sedgewick Bank building reflects the traditional preference of banks for classically inspired architecture, with its clear articulation of space on the front façade and the entablature. The concrete blocks manufactured in Sedgewick by the Barn Grain Company Limited were modifies to simulate rusticated sandstone. The building also reflects the common practice of including living quarters on the second floor. * * * Draft Press Release Sedgewick began as a CPR townsite which was surveyed in 1906 during the construction of its branch line from Camrose to Hardisty. The townsite immediately attracted a number of businesses which permitted it to function as a service centre for the adjacent farming area. Included amongst these new business establishments was a branch of the Merchants Bank of Canada opened in 1906. J. L. Clarke, the first manager, played a variety of roles in the economic and social life of the community. The Merchants Bank operated out of rented quarters until the construction of this building in the fall of 1910. In 1921, ownership of the property was transferred to the Bank of Montreal which occupied the building until 1976. The Sedgwick bank building reflects the traditional preference of banks for classically inspired architecture evident in the cornice above the second storey windows. Another architectural feature is the use of modified concrete blocks to simulate rusticated sandstone.

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:
Provincial Historic Resource	2009/06/24

Register:	N/A

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places:	4665-0649