Memorable Manitobans: James Chisholm (1841-1920)

Architect.

Born at Paris, Ontario on 25 December 1841, he trained as an architect before coming to the Red River Settlement in the spring of 1877 to work for John Sifton as a timekeeper on construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway between Winnipeg and Whitemouth. He worked as an architect at Superior, Wisconsin and St. Paul, Minnesota for 12 years before returning to Winnipeg in 1901 where he was head of the architectural firm of James Chisholm and Son, in partnership with his son Colin Campbell Chisholm. It is said that he supervised construction of the Old Winnipeg City Hall after architect Charles Arnold Barber was fired for incompetence.

On 22 February 1864, he married Elizabeth Goodfellow, at Brantford, Ontario. They had six children: Anna Alexandra Chisholm (1865-?, wife of Frank Heatly), Jeannette Campbell Chisholm (1868-1870), Gideon Goodfellow Chisholm (1870-1944, husband of Elizabeth Dundas), John James Chisholm (1874-1953, husband of Lillian Gertrude Spink), Helen Margaretta Chisholm (1878-1961, wife of Frederick Duffield Halpenny), and Colin Campbell Chisholm. He was a member of the Masons, Zion Methodist Church (where he was Superintendent of the Sunday School), and the Winnipeg School Board, one of the founders of the Strathcona Curling Club, and an honorary member of the Manitoba Curling Association.

He retired to California and died at Ocean Park on 14 October 1920.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Central School	110 Ellen Street, Winnipeg	1882
Harris Block	154 Princess Street, Winnipeg	1882
Clarendon Hotel	307-311 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1883	Demolished (1920)
Grace Methodist Church	Ellice and Notre Dame, Winnipeg	1883	Demolished (1957)
Victoria Hall	323-333 Notre Dame Avenue / 38 Adelaide Street, Winnipeg	1883	Destroyed by fire (23 December 1926)
Maycock Block	586 Main Street, Winnipeg	1885
Machray School No. 1	Charles Street, Winnipeg	1886
Guest Block	596-598 Main Street, Winnipeg	1902	Destroyed by fire (8 March 2024)
Zion Methodist Church	335 Pacific Avenue, Winnipeg	1904	Destroyed by fire (1970)
Simpson House (W. J. Simpson)	95 Academy Road, Winnipeg	1905
W. J. Guest Fish Warehouse	90 Alexander Avenue, Winnipeg	1905
Young Methodist / United Church	222 Furby Street, Winnipeg	1906
Jardine House (renovations)	115 Middle Gate, Winnipeg	1906
Exeter Block	76 Lily Street, Winnipeg	1906	Demolished (?)
Guest House (W. J. Guest)	75 Academy Road, Winnipeg	1907
Walter Woods Warehouse	10 Robinson Street, Winnipeg	1907
Selkirk Post Office and Customs Building	406 Main Street, Selkirk	1907-1909
Kipling Apartments	465 Langside Street, Winnipeg	1909	Demolished (?)
IOOF Temple	293 Kennedy Street, Winnipeg	1909-1910
Pottruff House	235 Kingsway, Winnipeg	1910
Sterling Bank Building	283 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1911
Zion Methodist Church	Roland, RM of Roland	1912
Sparling Methodist Church	1609 Elgin Avenue West, Winnipeg	1912
Jackson House	15 West Gate, Winnipeg	1912
Granite Curling Club	22 Mostyn Place, Winnipeg	1913
Marlborough Hotel	331 Smith Street, Winnipeg	1913
Shragge Warehouse	400 King Street	1913
La Salle Hotel	346 Nairn Avenue, Winnipeg	1914
Carruthers Building	124 King Street, Winnipeg	1916
Winnipeg Hydro Showroom	55 Princess Street, Winnipeg	1919-1920
Clarendon Block	307-311 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1920	Demolished (2012)
Walter Woods Warehouse (addition)	10 Robinson Street, Winnipeg	1920

Sources:

“Died at Ocean Park, California, Thursday,” Manitoba Free Press, 16 October 1920, page 5.

The Story of Manitoba by F. H. Schofield, Winnipeg: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1913.

Obituary [Helen M. Halpenny], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 July 1961.

Winnipeg Building Index

Crescentwood, A History by R. R. Rostecki, Winnipeg: Crescentwood Home Owners Association, 1993.

We thank Matthew Chisholm, Susan Bracken, Nathan Kramer, and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 1 December 2024

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!