Memorable Manitobans: Christopher Hickey “Chris” Simpson (1861-1928)

Building contractor.

Born at Glencoe, Ontario on 29 January 1861, he came to Winnipeg around 1898 and began working as a building contractor. He was President of the Kelly-Simpson Construction Company (?-1911) and National Construction Company (1911-?) in partnership with Michael Kelly until the Winnipeg Law Courts was built, after which the partnership was dissolved. He and wife Laureen Montgomery Forbes (1878-?) had one daughter. He moved to Santa Monica, California around 1924, died on 4 January 1928 and was buried there.

Some of his building works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Stobart Building	281 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg	1903
Winnipeg Saddlery Building	284 William Avenue, Winnipeg	1903
Glencoe Apartments	145 Scott Street, Winnipeg	1905	Destroyed by fire (1990)
Walter Woods Warehouse	10 Robinson Street, Winnipeg	1907
Richardson Storage Warehouse (with William James Lailey)	83 Kate Street, Winnipeg	1909
Clement Block	907 Rosser Avenue, Brandon	1910	Demolished (1989)
Stovel House	6 Ruskin Row, Winnipeg	1910

Sources:

1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

“Activities great but memory poor,” Manitoba Free Press, 30 October 1915, page 1.

“Dramatic story told by witness,” Manitoba Free Press, 1 December 1915, page 2.

“Former builder of city dies in California,” Winnipeg Tribune, 11 January 1928, page 5.

“C. H. Simpson, Winnipeg pioneer, dies in south,” Manitoba Free Press, 11 January 1928, page 11.

We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 10 February 2025

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!