Yorkton was to have its first bank in 1897, when V.H. Pickering & Co., a private company headquartered in Minnedosa, Manitoba opened a branch at #21 Front Street North. The Manager, C.W.R. Pearson tells how he expected to open the branch when he arrived, but had to wait for two weeks while construction was completed. Life was pretty informal in some ways in those days as Pearson had to check daily on the plasterer's progress. Pearson says: "He was very friendly, very talkative and he informed me that he was the Mayor of Yorkton, a rather high sounding title, which pleased him better than his actual one, being "Village Overseer." In 1897, the Overseer aka Mayor was W.L. Kilborn.
In 1899, the private bank was taken over by the Union Bank of Canada. This bank, with Pearson carrying on as manager was housed in the same building for a year, when the bank built a block on North Front Street, occupying the whole of the ground floor, one room for stationery, the other as a bedroom for the bank officer. The bank then erected a building on the northwest corner at # 39 Broadway Street East and Third Avenue North, which was ready for occupancy in 1906. Pearson was posted in Yorkton for nearly twenty years. The Union Bank became the Royal Bank in 1925.
After he was transferred to the Union Bank branch at Neepawa, Manitoba, he wrote an article for the Union Bank of Canada Monthly in December of 1922 in which he related much of Yorkton's banking history, as well as a number of other colourful anecdotes.
The third bank to set up business in Yorkton in 1903 was the Bank of British North America, which was located in the Dunlop Block, corner of Broadway and Second Avenue with Mr. Laing in charge. Later it moved to the corner of Argyle Street. In May 1906 the Bank of Toronto opened a branch here with Mr. Bunting as manager. It was followed in 1909 by the Bank of Commerce opening for business in the Meredith Block on the south side of Broadway, with Mr. Edmonds in charge. In 1913 the bank erected a most beautiful columned building (Doric columns) at #15 Broadway Street East. The Bank of Montreal also opened for business in 1913 in the Meredith Block, and so did the Northern Crown Bank, which was also located for a time in the Patrick Block in Third Avenue North. The later pulled out and returned as the Royal Bank, followed by the Dominion Bank and the Imperial Bank. For a few years, Yorkton had eight banks, and one must remember that in the pre-1920 years Yorkton had only town status. Pearson describes Yorkton's financial center as follows:
"a flattering tribute from the financial institutions to the town's importance. Later due to the amalgamation of the B.N.A. bank with the Bank of Montreal; the number was reduced again to seven. In the early days the banking district ran south to the C.P.R. mainline, before meeting competition, and to the North, clear through to the North Pole!"
The 1923 Insurance Underwriters Map shows the Bank of Montreal is located in the Dunlop Block, where the Bank of British North America was first located.
In 1930 the Bank of Commerce closed their branch and sold the building to the Bank of Montreal. In 1973 the building was demolished to make way for a parking lot for the new premises of the Bank of Montreal.
The Bank of Toronto at #41 Broadway Street East seemed to have been the only bank in Yorkton to experience a robbery, and twice at that! On Monday, March 30, 1931, a lone gunman unmasked but armed with a powerful Luger automatic revolver entered the Bank of Toronto, backed up the staff in a corner and helped himself to $2,669.23. Lyle Gibson of South Dakota made a clean getaway, but was later caught after being chased and apprehended by Charlie Beck at Fenwood, convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison with an undetermined number of lashes. According to one report, he ended up in the Weyburn Asylum, escaped and was never heard of again. In 1941, on May 21st, a lone masked bandit robbed the bank at gunpoint. Two employees were ordered into the vault, while the man made his escape. The robber was traced to his home at Calder. W.H. Hoar was found guilty and sent to prison for 2 years hard labour at the Regina jail. Magistrate Potter took a lenient view because of the man's circumstances.
The Bank of Toronto was amalgamated with the Dominion Bank in 1955.
Contact:
Terri Lefebvre Prince,
Heritage Researcher
City of Yorkton Archives,
City of Yorkton,
Box 400,
37 Third Avenue North,
Yorkton, Sask.
S3N 2W3
306-786-1722
[email protected]
