Founded at Wolseley, Saskatchewan in 1883 by brothers Edwin Ashley Banbury and Robert samuel Banbury, it was incorporated in 1906 through the merger with several other lumber companies at Regina and Winnipeg. Corporate headquarters were established at Winnipeg. Initial shareholders in the firm included grain merchant John Love, lumber merchant Robert William Gibson, grain merchant Samuel Peck Clark, lumber merchant Herbert Crowe, lawyer John Henry Munson, hardware merchant Frank Morton Morse, contractor Charles Willoughby, lumber merchant William Henry Duncan, lumber merchant Thomas Brown Patton, and the Banbury brothers.
The firm expanded across the prairies and into eastern Canada until, by the 1960s, it had 276 stores and was the largest retailer of building supplies in Canada.
In 2000, Beaver Lumber was absorbed by Home Hardware.
Period
President
1910-1956
Robert John “Bob” Gourley (1878-1976)
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Radio Industries Building (120 Fort Street, Winnipeg)
“Big corporation,” Winnipeg Tribune, 21 December 1906, page 6.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 29 March 2026
