Memorable Manitobans: James Allen MacDonald (1859-1926)

Architect.

Born at Exeter, Ontario on 1 June 1859, at an early age he moved to Winnipeg with his family and was educated there. He worked as a building contractor in Winnipeg from 1880 to 1882 then as a construction superintendent for the US Army in North Dakota from 1882 to 1884. He was a construction superintendent for the Minneapolis Public School Board from 1885 to 1889, at which time he moved to Portage la Prairie to open an architectural practice. He relocated to various locations in western Canada, including Regina, North West Territories (now Saskatchewan) in 1892, Nelson (British Columbia) in 1900, Lethbridge (Alberta) in 1903, and Calgary (Alberta) in 1910. He died at Calgary on 10 March 1926.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Lansdowne College	Portage la Prairie	1889
Oakland Presbyterian Church	Oakland	1891
Oakville School	Oakville	1891
Sidney Methodist Church	Sidney	1891
Knox Presbyterian Church	Creeford, RM of Elton	1892
Knox Presbyterian Church	396 First Street, Neepawa	1892

Sources:

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 3 August 2015

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: 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!