Canadian Bank of Commerce - Olds, Alberta
Posted by: 
wildwoodke
N 51° 47.473 W 114° 06.377
11U E 699558 N 5741778
Canadian Bank of Commerce constructed this building in about 1910 in the Town of Olds, Alberta.
Waymark Code: WMDV4Y
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 02/25/2012
Views: 7
Text from the plaque:
"The Canadian Bank of Commerce c1910 (51st Steet)
Constructed about 1910, the original building housed the Canadian Bank of Commerce with living quarters on the second floor. After the bank of Commerce closed its Olds branch, the building was used for various purposes including the Post Office.
It housed the Olds Library in the 1980s and the Handicraft Guild used the rooms above. During the 1990s it was renovated and used as a book store, later to be connected to the Olds Value Drug store at the south east corner and converted to a photography store.
Joint Initiative of the Town of Olds, Communities in Bloom and Olds Historical Society 2007"
"The year 1890 marks the beginning of the settlement which became the town of Olds. When the rail line reached the sixth siding (Olds) out of Calgary, a section foreman named David Shannon arrived on an open handcar. Mr. Shannon, a native of Ireland, was experienced at railway construction, as he had worked on the building of the Underground in London, England. At the Sixth Siding, Mr. Shannon provided living quarters for his family and established squatter's rights to a quarter section of land. This gained them the distinction of being the earliest residents of Olds.
On 27 July 1891, the first through train made the trip from Calgary to south Edmonton. Tsame month the CPR took over the operation of the C & E Railway and released its officialist of names for the sidings and stations along the route. Sixth Siding had already been designated as a railway station point and work started on the building of the station and water tank.
A committee of CPR officials, charged with selecting names for the points along the line, suggested "Shannon", but this honour was declined by Mr. Shannon and the town site was named for a CPR traffic manager, Mr. George Olds. He was born in Gloucestershire, England in 1832. He came to Canada as a young man and worked for a number of railways in Canada and the United States, returning to Canada in 1886 to join Canadian Pacific as a General Traffic Manager. He held this position until his retirement 10 years later. Mr. Olds is buried in the Airdrie cemetery. It appears that even before he retired from employment with the CPR, he lived for a time in the settlement that was named for him, running a store."
See the Town of Old website for ths early history: (
visit link)