Memorable Manitobans: Herbert Bell Rugh (1879-1924)

Herbert Bell Rugh Click to enlarge

Architect.

Born at Cedar Rapids, Iowa on 16 May 1879, son of George S. Rugh (1856-1923), in 1898 he served with US forces in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, after which he trained at the Armor Institute of Technology in Chicago. He practiced as an architect in Chicago for four year before coming to Winnipeg in early 1904. He and his wife, Mae Lillian White (?-?) of Cedar Rapids, had a child in late 1906. They became members of the Winnipeg elite for, when Mrs. Rugh held an open house in May 1907, her visitors included such prominent Winnipeg families as Bawlf, Patterson, Pitblado, and Stovel.

In late 1911, he joined his architectural practice to the Montreal firm of Ross and MacFarlane, with him as manager of the firm’s Winnipeg office, located on the ninth floor of the Union Bank Building. In November 1912, his wife successfully petitioned the federal parliament for a divorce, citing her husband’s adultery.

A few months after the outbreak of the First World War, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He went overseas from June 1915 to May 1919, serving as Captain of the 44th Battalion, as well as company commander and quartermaster. He served at La Coulette, Lens, Passchendaele, Somme, Vimy Ridge, and Ypres. His letters and sketches sent home were published locally. He was the only man of his battalion to return from the war unscathed, everyone else having been “killed or maimed.”

Returning home to Iowa in 1920, he married Alice Slocum (1893-1929) of Cedar Rapids with whom he had two children, George Rugh (c1922-1929) and Alice Rugh (c1924-1929). In July 1924, he was killed in an automobile accident a few miles east of Dubuque, Iowa. His widow took employment as an insurance agent. She and their two children were found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in November 1929, shortly after the stock market crash.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Shepard House (Clarence Day Shepard)	10 Avonherst, Winnipeg	1905
Bonniveens Block	185 Spence Street, Winnipeg	1905
Erb House	412 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg	1906
Frontenac Block	90 Gertie Street, Winnipeg	1906	Destroyed by fire (2023)
Pulford Block (A. H. Pulford)	Donald Street, Winnipeg	1906
Fairchild Building / Warehouse	110-120 Princess Avenue, Winnipeg	1907
Bissett House	11 Harvard Avenue, Winnipeg	1906
Hutchings House	424 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg	1906
Melrose Apartments	100 Bole Street, Winnipeg	1906	Demolished (?)
Suckling House	27 Harvard Avenue, Winnipeg	1906
Parker House (Matthew A. Parker)	100 Harvard Avenue, Winnipeg	1907
Heath House	83 Kingsway, Winnipeg	1908
Reid House (J. Y. Reid)	329 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg	1908
McNeil House (L. McNeil)	Gertrude Avenue, Winnipeg	1908
Stephens House (Mrs. F. E. Stephens)	Yale Avenue, Winnipeg	1908
Godfrey House	144 Kingsway, Winnipeg	1908
Young Women’s Christian Association Building	cor Ellice Avenue & Vaughan Street, Winnipeg	1908
Osler House (Hugh F. Osler)	485 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg	1909
Robinson House (George F. Robinson)	47 Harvard Avenue, Winnipeg	1909
Gwalia Block	169-173 Osborne Street, Winnipeg	1909
Kneeland House	12 Ruskin Row, Winnipeg	1910
Robinson House	703 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg	1911
Winnipeg Isolation Hospital	Winnipeg	1911
Inglis Building (renovation)	291 Garry Street, Winnipeg	c1914

Sources:

Classified ad, Manitoba Free Press, 28 July 1904, page 14.

“Syndicate to build a home,” Manitoba Free Press, 29 November 1905, page 11.

“The New Pulford Block,” Manitoba Free Press, 19 March 1906, page 3.

“Winnipeg’s progress has been substantial,” Manitoba Free Press, 21 November 1908, page 29.

Classified ad, Manitoba Free Press, 21 November 1912, page 18.

Divorce notice, Manitoba Free Press, 30 November 1912, page 2.

CEF attestation papers, Library and Archives Canada.

Rugh military record, Manitoba Free Press, 3 April 1920, page 6.

Obituary, Manitoba Free Press, 14 July 1924, page 6

“Three are victims of carbon monoxide gas: woman and two children die at Cedar Rapids; widow of former Winnipeg soldier,” Manitoba Free Press, 19 November 1929, page 1.

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

Linwood [Cedar Rapids] Cemetery Transcription, www.us-data.org/ia/linn/cemeteries/linnwoodcem.txt

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 17 January 2023

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: 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!