Memorable Manitobans: John Woodman (1861-1944)

John Woodman Click to enlarge

Engineer, architect.

Born at Oshawa, Ontario on 5 October 1861, brother of Gordon Ogilvie Woodman, he came to Winnipeg in 1880 with a survey crew of the Canadian Pacific Railway. He remained with the company, in its engineering department, rising to the rank of Chief Engineer for the Western Division, from which post he retired in 1901. At that time he entered private practice as an architect, practicing with Arthur Edward Cubbidge after 1917, and retiring in 1927. He was for some years a partner of Raymond Carey.

He and wife Sophia Littlejohn Stevenson (1871-1964) had eight children: Henry John Woodman, Frederick Victor Woodman (1892-1972), Sophia Amy Woodman (1897-1980, wife of Gaston De Jardin, second wife of Gerald Stewart Rutherford), Alan Charles Woodman, Douglas Sidney “Jim” Woodman (1904-?), Edward George Woodman (1906-1944), Ethel Constance Mary Woodman (1908-1983, wife of George Maulson, daughter-in-law of Harold Frederick Maulson), and Margaret Mills Woodman (1910-2006, wife of Jeffery Stirton). He was a member of the Manitoba Club, St. Charles Country Club, and Anglican Church.

He died at his Winnipeg residence, 504 River Avenue, on 17 May 1944 and was buried in the St. John’s Cathedral Cemetery.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Eaton’s Department Store	320 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1904-1906
Gunn Block	256-266 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg	1905	Demolished (1971)
Thomas Davidson Warehouse	515 Waterfront Drive, Winnipeg	1905
Allen Building	288 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg	1905-1906
Grace Hospital	200 Arlington Street, Winnipeg	1905-1906	Demolished (1974)
Becher House	67 Kingsway, Winnipeg	1906
Somerset Building	294 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1906
St. Alban’s Anglican Church	468 Rathgar Avenue, Winnipeg	1907	Demolished (1950)
Breadalbane Apartments	379 Hargrave Street, Winnipeg	1909
Manitoba Cold Storage Warehouse (addition)	151 Higgins Avenue, Winnipeg	1910	Destroyed by fire (2004)
Milton Bakery Building	Bannatyne Avenue at Olivia Street, Winnipeg	1910	Demolished (?)
Hudson’s Bay Company Wholesale Building	77 Main Street, Winnipeg	1911
Lindsay Building	228 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg	1911
Hudson’s Bay Company Garage	115 Garry Street, Winnipeg	1911
Blackwood Soda Factory Building	421 Mulvey Avenue East, Winnipeg	1912
Blackwood Pickle Factory Building	415 Mulvey Avenue East, Winnipeg	1912
Free Press Building	300 Carlton Street, Winnipeg	1912
Clarks Brothers Warehouse	448 Hargrave Street, Winnipeg	1912
Union Stockyards Office	780 Marion Street, Winnipeg	1912
Claude Heubach Residence	64 Nassau Street, Winnipeg	1914
J. R. Watkins Company Building	90 Annabella Street, Winnipeg	1914
Paris Building	259 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1915
Stovel Printing Building	365 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg	1916
The Public Press Building	290 Vaughan Street, Winnipeg	1917
Jewish Orphanage	133 Matheson Avenue East, Winnipeg	1919-1920	Demolished (1962)
General Steele School	757 Lyon Street, Winnipeg	1921
Eaton’s Printing Plant and Warehouse	130 Galt Avenue, Winnipeg	1926-1927
Graham Block	399 Graham Avenue, Winnipeg	1928
Vaughan Apartments	219 Vaughan Street, Winnipeg	1929

Sources:

1901 and 1911 Canada censuses, Automated Genealogy.

“Most up-to-date bakery in Canada,” Winnipeg Tribune, 27 July 1910, page 1.

Birth registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“John Woodman dies after long illness,” Winnipeg Free Press, 18 May 1944.

“John Woodman dies, aged 84,” Winnipeg Tribune, 18 May 1944. [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B9, page 152]

Second World War Service Files [Captain Edward George Woodman, Deceased: 7 December 1944], Library and Archives of Canada.

“10 Manitobans are included in 2 Army casualty releases,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 January 1945, page 2.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 25 March 1964.

Obituary [Major F. Victor Woodman], Winnipeg Free Press, 27 July 1972, page 31.

Obituary [Sophia Amy Rutherford], Winnipeg Free Press, 22 February 1980, page 36.

Obituary [Ethel Constance Mary Maulson], Winnipeg Free Press, 29 September 1983, page 62.

Obituary [Margaret Louise Stirton], Edmonton Journal, 27 April 2006.

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

We thank Gail Singleton and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 7 May 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!