Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Woodward family fonds
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- Textual record
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- Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the fonds.
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Fonds
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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
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Physical description area
Physical description
- 0.06 m of textual records
- 12 photographs: prints
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The Woodward family were early settlers in Vancouver, and owners of the Woodward's Department Stores Limited company.
Charles Woodward (1863-1937) was born in Beverly Township, Ontario, and after several business ventures in Ontario, moved his family to Vancouver in 1892. He opened his first store at what is now the corner of Main and Georgia Streets. In 1902, he incorporated Woodward's Department Stores Limited, a company formed with several other small businesses. At this time, a new store was built at Hastings and Abbott Streets. Over the next twenty years, various departments were opened within this store. In 1926, a second store was opened in Edmonton, and by the late 1940s, the company began to expand its operations throughout B.C. and Alberta.
Upon Charles Woodward's death in 1937, his son, William Culham Woodward, was appointed as president of the company. W.C. Woodward also served as Lieutenant-Governor of B.C. from 1941 to 1946.
Name of creator
Name of creator
Biographical history
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Administrative history
Woodward's Department Stores was a company controlling a chain of department stores across Western Canada.
Charles Woodward established the first Woodward's store at the corner of Main and Georgia Streets in 1892. In 1902, a new store was built at Hastings and Abbott, which was expanded several times over the next fifty years. In 1926, a store was opened in Edmonton, and by the late 1940s, the company began to open numerous stores in B.C. and Alberta, including: Port Alberni (1948); West Vancouver (1950); New Westminster (1951); Oakridge Mall, Vancouver (1959); Calgary (1960); Mayfair, Victoria (1963); a second store in Edmonton (1965); Prince George (1966); and Surrey (1966).
Custodial history
Scope and content
The fonds consists of records of various members of the Woodward family. Records include correspondence, notes, newspaper clippings, genealogical records, photographs, and other materials. Fonds also includes some correspondence of Charles E. Wynn-Johnson, father of Ruth Wynn-Johnson, who married William Culham Woodward.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Some records were donated to the Archives in 1972 by the Woodward's Department Stores Limited company, through Mr. M. Gandossi, Controller. Additional materials were donated to the Archives by the Woodward family at an unknown date.
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Finding aids
A file list is available.
Associated materials
See also the Woodward's Department Stores Limited fonds (Add. MSS. 220).
Accruals
General note
Parts of Add. MSS. 564 have been amalgamated with Add. MSS. 222; citations for these records should therefore refer only to Add. MSS. 222.