Bank of Ottawa

The Bank of Ottawa was an early Canadian banking establishment in the Ottawa Valley, Ontario. Branches included Ottawa, Carp,[1] Pembroke,[2] Keewatin and Winnipeg, Manitoba.[3] It merged with the Bank of Nova Scotia in 1919.

Bank of Ottawa

Bank of Ottawa branch in Cobalt, Ontario
Industry	Banking
Fate	Merged into The Bank of Nova Scotia in 1919
Founded	1874 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Defunct	1919
Areas served	Ottawa, Arnprior, Keewatin, and Winnipeg
Key people	James Maclaren (first president)

History

The Bank of Ottawa was established in 1874 by Ottawa Valley lumber pioneers, including James Maclaren, who presided over the Bank from 1874 until his death in 1892.[4] Its head office was on Wellington Street in Ottawa.[5] John Mather served as a bank director from 1879.

Like the other Canadian chartered banks, it issued its own paper money. The bank issued notes 1874-1913. The end dates are the final dates appearing on notes, which circulated for some time after.

The bank expanded beyond the Ottawa area, and by 1918 had branches in six provinces.[6] The Bank of Ottawa, for example, was the first occupant of the building at 169 John Street North in Arnprior, Ontario, and in 1907 a branch was opened in Tisdale.[7] In 1911, the bank's branch in Porcupine, Ontario, was destroyed along with most of the town in a fire.[8]

After World War I the Bank of Ottawa reached a point where it required new capital and vigorous expansion to remain competitive and maintain its earnings. To achieve this, the bank amalgamated with The Bank of Nova Scotia [9] in 1919.[10] Through this merger, The Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a number of new branches as far west as the Pacific Ocean.[11]

See also

• Canadian chartered bank notes

References

1. Photograph ER03_041.tiff, Erskine Rivington Photographic Collection, Huntley Township Historical Society, carp, Ontario
2. "Bank of Ottawa". The Week : a Canadian journal of politics, literature, science and arts. 1 (15): 240. 13 Mar 1884. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
3. John Mather Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
4. "From Pathways to Roadways" In: Jeff Keshen, Nicole St-Onge. Ottawa--making a Capital. University of Ottawa Press; 2001. ISBN 978-0-7766-0521-0. p. 82–.
5. "Ottawa's past in pictures: Looking back on lost landmarks". Danny Globerman, CBC News, May 20, 2017
6. David Lee. Lumber Kings and Shantymen: Logging and Lumbering in the Ottawa Valley. James Lorimer & Company; 7 July 2006. ISBN 978-1-55028-922-0. p. 201–.
7. "Throwback: Permit issued for construction of new Tisdale Scotiabank". From the Tisdale Recorder files, Jan. 18, 1978. Reprinted in the Parkland Review, January 7, 2018
8. "Marking a grim anniversary" Archived 2018-03-19 at the Wayback Machine. By Karen Bachmann, The Daily Press-freelance, July 11, 2014
9. Bank of Nova Scotia, The Canadian Encyclopedia
10. Banking, Trade and Industry: Europe, America and Asia from the Thirteenth to the Twentieth Century. Cambridge University Press; 15 May 1997. ISBN 978-0-521-57361-0. p. 327–.
11. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2010-05-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Arnprior Heritage Trail.