Walter Frederick Hogarth (30 June 1864 – 4 May 1936)

Born in Brantford, Ontario, 30 June, 1864, Walter Frederick Hogarth grew up in London,

Ontario. In 1887 he left London and moved to Canada’s hinterland where he established a

homestead on the Shores of Salt Lake near Strathclair, Manitoba. To finance his homestead

and the relocation of his family to his homestead, Hogarth worked for the Manitoba

Northwestern railway until the company was absorbed by the CPR. It was while he was working

on the CPR that he first visited Fort William. He later came to settle in Fort William with his wife,

Margaret Piper, in 1898. Once in Fort William, he established a feed and confection store and

eventually pioneered the building up of Syndicate Avenue through his erection of the Hogarth

Block. Hogarth had also been mayor of Fort William and during his term hosted visits of King

George and Queen Mary and the Duke and Duchess of York. Walter F. was also a charter

member of the Mount McKay and Kakabeka Falls Railway Company as well as part of the

committee to start McKellar General Hospital. During the war, Hogarth also sat on a committee

that lobbied to have the labour of ‘enemy aliens’ put to use in the district.

References

“Fort William City Appoints Strong Committee To Urge Need Of Local Aliens in District Hereabouts.” Fort William Daily Times Journal, 19 December, 1914.

“W.F. Hogarth, Pioneer Business Leader, Dead.” Fort William Daily Times Journal, 4 May, 1936.