A two-storey brick building on Morris Street North in Gladstone, in the Municipality of WestLake-Gladstone, was constructed in 1902 on a design by Toronto-based architect George Wallace Gouinlock (1861-1932) at a cost of about $15,000. One of the earliest department stores outside a major urban centre in Manitoba, it continued the retail business of brothers Roper Galloway and William Galloway that had been established in 1881.
Initially, the building's showrooms were illuminated by acetylene gas lamps and the ground floor featured decorative millwork. By 1906, the store had over 10,000 square feet of floor space, employing 33 workers staffing departments for clothing and millinery, boots and shoes, groceries, dry goods, and home furnishings.
In February 1909, the business was sold to two employees, Allan Hampton Collins (1872-1918) and Richard Diamond (1879-1955) but the name of Galloway Brothers Limited remained unchanged. It operated as Collins & Diamond Limited from June 1918, under Diamond’s sole proprietorship, to 1935 when the business failed and Diamond moved to British Columbia.
After its time as a department store ended, the building hosted several commercial enterprises, including a recreation centre (1936), poultry processing plant (1936-1937), hardware store (1937-1949) under William Leathley “Bill” Pattinson (1887-1966), and dry goods store (1950). It sat vacant until January 1952, when the first floor became a Macleod’s department store under brothers Valdi Bjarnarson (1915-1980) and Haldor Robert “Dori” Bjarnarson, with the second floor used as residential space.
The store closed around 1978 but the building became a provincially-designated historic site in 1989. It accommodated a hardware store from about 1990 to 1996. After standing vacant for a time, it was purchased by the Mekiwin Corporation that planned to develop horseradish as a commercial crop in Manitoba. In its final years, the building hosted local government offices.
On 25 December 2022, the building was badly damaged by a fire that destroyed the nearby Gladstone Hotel. It was demolished in February 2024.
Galloway Brothers Department Store (1906)
Source: Gladstone & District Illustrated, Gladstone Board of Trade, 1906. [Legislative Library of Manitoba]
Galloway Brothers Department Store (August 2012)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Galloway Brothers Department Store (February 2020)
Source: George Penner
Galloway Brothers Department Store (February 2021)
Source: George Penner
Galloway Brothers Department Store (April 2021)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Rear view of Galloway Brothers Department Store (April 2021)
Source: Rose KuzinaSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.22701, W98.95105
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Provincially Designated Historic Sites
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Galloway House (26 Hyde Park Crescent, Gladstone, Municipality of WestLake-Gladstone)
Memorable Manitobans: Roper Galloway (1855-1924)
Memorable Manitobans: William Galloway (1863-1946)
Memorable Manitobans: Haldor Robert “Dori” Bjarnarson (1923-2011)
Gladstone & District Illustrated, Gladstone Board of Trade, 1906. [Legislative Library of Manitoba]
“Retiring from business,” Gladstone Age, 11 February 1909, page 8.
Death registration [Allan Hampton Collins], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“A. H. Collins, Gladstone district, passes away,” Manitoba Free Press, 29 May 1918, page 1.
“Collins & Diamond Ltd.,” Gladstone Age, 6 June 1918, page 8.
“W. C. Johnston & Co. Ltd.,” Gladstone Age, 31 October 1935, page 1.
Death registration [Richard Diamond], British Columbia Vital Statistics.
“Pattinson’s Hdwe.,” Gladstone Age, 26 December 1956, page 4.
“Bjarnarson Bros.,” Gladstone Age, 26 December 1956, page 4.
“W. L. Pattinson interred in Winnipeg July 22nd,” Gladstone Age, 27 July 1966, page 1.
Gladstone Then and Now: 1871-2001 by Gladstone History Book Committee, 2001, pages 80-81.
Galloway Bros. Department Store, 37 Morris Avenue, Gladstone, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.
Historical Buildings of Gladstone, Self Guided Tour, Gladstone: Gladstone Theatre Courtyard, 2007.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank George Penner and Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 6 February 2024
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