The Molsons Bank was a Canadian bank founded in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, by brothers

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

(1793–1875) and John Molson, Jr. (1787–1860), the sons of brewery magnate

John Molson John Molson (28 December 1763 – 11 January 1836) was an English people, English-born brewer and entrepreneur in colonial Province of Quebec (1763–91), Quebec, which during his lifetime became Lower Canada. In addition to founding Molson Brewe ...

Operations

In 1837, the bank opened and issued its first banknotes. In 1850, it was constituted under the ''Free Banking Act'' passed by the parliament of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

. To increase its powers and its revenue, the bank was incorporated in 1855. It was granted a charter on May 19, 1855 in

allowing it to operate its bank in the same way as other banks. With its

head office Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

at the corner of St. James & St. Peter streets (today known as

Saint-Jacques Saint-Jacques (the French name for Saint James (disambiguation), Saint James) may refer to: Canada * Saint-Jacques, New Brunswick, a former village, now part of Edmundston * Saint-Jacques Parish, New Brunswick Quebec * Saint-Jacques Cathedral ...

and Saint-Pierre streets) in Montreal, it continued in operation until 1925 when it merged with the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (, ), abbreviated as BMO (pronounced ), is a Canadian multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank, making it Canada ...

Branches

The bank operated 125 branches primarily in

and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. It also had branches in western Canada and agents in the US and UK. The

at 3 King Street South,

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto, but it is n ...

, is a former branch of the Molson Bank that was built in 1914 and is on the Registry of Historical Places of Canada.

Presidents

William Molson William Molson (November 5, 1793 – February 18, 1875) was a Canadian politician, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was the founder and President of Molson Bank, which was in 1925 absorbed by the Bank of Montreal. He was the son of the founde ...

, 1855–1875 # John Thomas Molson, 1875–1879 # Thomas Workman, 1879–1889 # John Henry Robinson Molson, 1889–1897 # William Molson Macpherson, 1897–1922 # Frederick William Molson, 1922–1924http://www.bmo.com/bmo/files/images/4/1/BMOHistoryEng.pdf

Gallery

File:Banque Molson.jpg, Molson Bank File:Molsons Bank Montreal.jpg, Molson Bank in Montreal File:The Bank of Montreal, Waterloo (formerly Molsons Bank Building).jpg, This BMO branch in

retains the Molsons Bank name on the

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

. File:Molson Bank Saint-Rémi Notre-Dame.jpg, Molson Bank branch, constructed in 1905, at the corner of Saint-Rémi and Notre-Dame in Montreal, Quebec, Canada File:Molsons Bank, Toronto.png, The Toronto main branch at 300 Bay Street. File:The Molsons Bank Ontario newspaper ad.png, Newspaper advertisement from 1916.

References

*Denison, Merrill, 1893–1975. Canada's first bank : a history of the Bank of Montreal. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, c1966. 2 v. : ill., maps, ports., (some folded, some col).; 25 cm. Defunct banks of Canada Companies based in Montreal Molson family Banks established in 1850 Banks disestablished in 1925 Bank of Montreal 1850 establishments in Canada East 1925 disestablishments in Quebec Canadian companies established in 1850 {{Bank-stub

Operations

Branches

Presidents

Gallery

See also

References