Born at Montreal, Quebec on 3 January 1847, he attended country schools in Maryboro County, Ontario. At the age of 16 he took up the carriage-making trade until 1881, when he came to Manitoba with his wife and children. He worked as a general contractor in Winnipeg, as a partner in the firm of Harrington and Thompson, then moved to Brandon and continued work in this area. In 1906, he incorporated the Brandon Construction Company with himself as its managing director. It became the city’s largest building firm doing business throughout western Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
On 26 January 1870, he married Margaret Thomson (1852-1929) and they had six children: William James Harrington, Lilly Harrington (1874-1890), Mary J. Harrington (1877-?), Ida May Harrington (1879-?. wife of William Henry McKinnon of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan), Carrie A. Harrington (1883-?), and Herbert Baldwin Harrington (1885-?). He was a member of the Masons (Royal Arch), Winnipeg Building Society, and Young Methodist (United) Church. He retired from business in 1916 and returned to Winnipeg, where he lived successively at 153 Hargrave Street and 141 Sherbrook Street.
He died at Winnipeg on 30 January 1937 and was buried in the St. James Anglican Cemetery.
Some of his construction works in Manitoba included:
Building
Location
Year
Status
Old Mulvey School
Winnipeg
?
Westminster Block
330 Donald Street, Winnipeg
?
Caldwell Block
Winnipeg
?
520 William Avenue, Winnipeg
1898
Demolished (July 2025)
270 Eighteenth Street, Brandon
1901
Third Avenue SW, Carman
1902
Demolished (c1961)
940 Rosser Avenue, Brandon
1903
Lorne Avenue, Brandon
1904
Demolished (1978)
See also:
Manitoba Business: Brandon Construction Company
Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
The Story of Manitoba by F. H. Schofield, Winnipeg: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1913.
“Old-time city resident dies, aged 69 years,” Winnipeg Tribune, 24 August 1929, page 5.
“His 90th birthday,” Brandon Sun, 7 January 1937, page 9.
Death registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“T. Harrington, pioneer in city building, dies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 2 February 1937, page 17.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 4 July 2025
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