The Bank of Ottawa was an early Canadian banking establishment in the Ottawa Valley, Ontario. Branches included Ottawa, Carp,Photograph ER03_041.tiff, Erskine Rivington Photographic Collection, Huntley Township Historical Society, carp, Ontario Pembroke, Keewatin and Winnipeg, Manitoba.John Mather Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online It merged with the Bank of Nova Scotia in 1919.
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."From Pathways to Roadways" In: Jeff Keshen, Nicole St-Onge. Ottawa--making a Capital. University of Ottawa Press; 2001. . p. 82–. Its head office was on Wellington Street and O'Connor Street (where Victoria Building (Ottawa)) in Ottawa."Ottawa's past in pictures: Looking back on lost landmarks". Danny Globerman, CBC News, May 20, 2017 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.David Lee. Lumber Kings and Shantymen: Logging and Lumbering in the Ottawa Valley. James Lorimer & Company; 7 July 2006. . p. 201–. 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.. From the Tisdale Recorder files, Jan. 18, 1978. Reprinted in the Parkland Review, January 7, 2018 In 1911, the bank's branch in Porcupine, Ontario, was destroyed along with most of the town in a fire."Marking a grim anniversary" . By Karen Bachmann, The Daily Press-freelance, July 11, 2014
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 ScotiaBank of Nova Scotia, The Canadian Encyclopedia in 1919.Banking, Trade and Industry: Europe, America and Asia from the Thirteenth to the Twentieth Century. Cambridge University Press; 15 May 1997. . p. 327–. Through this merger, The Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a number of new branches as far west as the Pacific Ocean. Arnprior Heritage Trail.
Branches
See also Canadian chartered bank notes
References