Memorable Manitobans: Walter Henderson Shillinglaw (1864-1957)

Walter Henderson Shillinglaw Click to enlarge

Engineer, architect.

Born at Staffa, Ontario on 29 September 1864, son of James Shillinglaw (1832-1910) and Elizabeth Deans (1837-1897), he was educated at Albany, Missouri before moving with his family to Portage la Prairie in 1880 then to Brandon in March 1882. His father was a builder, and together they erected the family home in the east end of Brandon where he lived most of his life.

He attended the School of Science in Toronto for three years, after which he returned to Brandon in 1888 and began designing buildings, ranking as the city’s most important early architect as well as its longest-lived practitioner. From 1896 to 1909, he was civic engineer for the City of Brandon, being responsible for installation of bridges, sewers, and water works.

Returning to private practice in 1909 following a scandal arising from construction of the First Street Bridge, he joined David Marshall in the architectural firm of Shillinglaw and Marshall, which was responsible for the design of many important buildings in Brandon, including the Exhibition Building for the 1913 Dominion Fair. After military service in the First World War from 1916 to 1918, in which he rose to the rank of Major, he returned to his architectural practice.

On 19 September 1899, he married nurse Elizabeth Monteith (1865-1950) at Virden. They had no children. He was a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Brandon Curling Club, and Presbyterian church. His recreations included golf, curling, and rifle shooting. He served on the Brandon city council (c1913).

He died at Brandon on 20 November 1957 and was buried in the Brandon Cemetery.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Fleming House / Villa Louise	707 Louise Avenue, Brandon	1888
Alexander Presbyterian Church	Alexander, RM of Whitehead	1889
East Ward School	Fourth Street, Brandon	1889
West Ward School	Fifteenth Street, Brandon	1889
Brandon Land Titles Building	705 Princess Avenue, Brandon	1890
Central School	Lorne Avenue, Brandon	1891
McDonald Block	841 Rosser Avenue, Brandon	1892
Douglas Methodist Church	Douglas, RM of Elton	1893
Melita School No. 440	41 Ash Street, Melita	1893
Oakwood School No. 439	Oak Lake, RM of Sifton	1893
Souris School No. 285	Souris	1894
Carberry School No. 125	Carberry	1895
Brandon Hills Union Church	RM of Cornwallis	1896
Griswold Presbyterian Church	Griswold, RM of Sifton	1896-1898
Griswold School No. 425	Griswold, RM of Sifton	1897
Cartwright School No. 174	Cartwright	1897
Crystal City School No. 107	Crystal City	1898
Altona School No. 333	Altona	1899
Pipestone School No. 737	Pipestone, RM of Pipestone	1899
St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church	321 Eighth Street, Brandon	1900-1901	Destroyed by fire (1986)
Beresford Village School No. 1130	Beresford, RM of Whitehead	1901
Zink Block	825-829 Rosser Avenue, Brandon	1902
Rathwell School No. 578	Rathwell, RM of South Norfolk	1903
Graham House	706 Lorne Avenue, Brandon	1903
Administration Building, Ninette Sanatorium	Ninette, RM of Strathcona	1908-1909
Brandon Fire Hall No. 2	603 Eleventh Street, Brandon	1908-1909
Oakwood School No. 439 (expansion)	Oak Lake, RM of Sifton	1909
Alexander School No. 338	Alexander, RM of Whitehead	1912
Maley House	1605 Victoria Avenue, Brandon	1912
McCreary Automotive Building	1133 Princess Avenue, Brandon	1912
Dominion Exhibition Display Building II	Brandon Fair Grounds	1913
Fleming School	2320 Louise Avenue, Brandon	1914-1915
First Presbyterian Church	339 Twelfth Street, Brandon	1928
Earl Haig School	First Street, Brandon	1928	Demolished (1988)
Earl Oxford School	540 Eighteenth Street, Brandon	1928-1929
Dominion Post Office Building (supervision)	1039 Princess Avenue, Brandon	1929-1930

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Shillinglaw House (302 Russell Street, Brandon)

Sources:

Marriage registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

A History of Manitoba: Its Resources and People by Prof. George Bryce, Toronto: The Canadian History Company, 1906.

“Plaintiff awarded one dollar damages,” Brandon Sun, 25 March 1909, page 10.

“Old timer dead,” Brandon Sun, 8 September 1910, page 2.

1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

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

Who's Who and Why, Volumes 6 and 7, 1915-1916, pages 732-733.

Attestation papers, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.

Obituary [Mrs. W. H. Shillinglaw], Brandon Sun, 13 February 1950, page 9.

“Pioneer architect dies at 93,” Brandon Sun, 21 November 1957, page 2.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

Holy Ground: The Story of the Manitoba Sanatorium at Ninette by David B. Stewart, J. A. Victor David Museum, 1999.

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.

We thank Nathan Kramer and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 20 November 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: 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!