Born at Goderich, Ontario on 18 October 1851, he came to Winnipeg in 1877. His first winter was spent constructing the Canadian Pacific Railway from eastern Canada to Winnipeg, under Joseph Whitehead. The following year he took work with the lumber firm of Brown and Rutherford, staying there until he formed a construction business for himself. His firm built many of the city’s important buildings, including the Central United Church. He served for many years as President of the Builders’ Exchange, and was a member of the Winnipeg Board of Trade.
On 24 March 1875, he married Jennie Emily Arthur (1849-1936) of Goderich, Ontario and they had five children: David Arthur Girvin (1882-?), Frederick H. Girvin (1885-?), Hattie Pearson Girvin (1888-?, wife of William Ernest Leonard), May Godfrey Girvin (1888-?, wife of Ernest Manuel Payne), and Ada Glenn Girvin (?-?, wife of William John Bartram). He was a Mason (Scottish Rite). He died at his Winnipeg home, 356 Carlton Street, on 6 May 1931 and was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery.
Some of the Manitoba buildings that his firm constructed:
Building
Location
Year
Status
374 Hargrave Street, Winnipeg
1882
Demolished (1936)
River Avenue, Winnipeg
1890-1891
Demolished (August 1954)
311 Ross Avenue, Winnipeg
1899
YMCA Building (with Philip Burnett)
276 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg
1900
Bank of Hamilton Building (with Philip Burnett)
395 Main Street, Winnipeg
1901
Demolished (?)
Cockshutt Plow Building (with Robert Watson)
238 Princess Street, Winnipeg
1902
317 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg
1904
Paulin-Chambers Building (expansion; with Philip Burnett)
311 Ross Avenue, Winnipeg
1904
Tees & Persse Warehouse
Princess Street, Winnipeg
1904
Demolished (?)
156 Lombard Avenue, Winnipeg
1904
Demolished (c1965)
306-310 Ross Avenue, Winnipeg
1905
Fairchild Warehouse (addition)
255 Sutherland Avenue, Winnipeg
1906
Allen House
6 Roslyn Road, Winnipeg
1907
Galt Warehouse
334 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg
1909
280-282 Hargrave Street / 328-338 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg
1909-1910
Demolished (1969)
Paulin-Chambers Building (expansion; with Philip Burnett)
311 Ross Avenue, Winnipeg
1910
Congdon Marsh Building
86-88 Princess Street, Winnipeg
1920
Marriage registration, Ancestry.
Birth, marriage, and death registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary, Manitoba Free Press, 7 May 1931.
“John Girvin, pioneer contractor, expires,” Manitoba Free Press, 7 May 1931.
Obituary [Jennie E. Girvin], Winnipeg Tribune, 13 October 1936, page 22.
Paulin-Chambers Building, 311 Ross Avenue, Winnipeg Historical Buildings & Resources Committee, July 2018.
We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 8 November 2024
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