Have you ever stopped to wonder about the origin of street names in your neighbourhood? On the North Shore, there’s essentially a history lesson at every street corner. Many streets in North and West Vancouver are named after early investors, land developers and pioneer families such as Alfred St. George Hamersley, James Cooper Keith, Harvey Hadden, James C. Keith, John Lawson and Arthur Pemberton Heywood-Lonsdale. The list is endless.
However, I’m going to tell you about the origin of the street named Sowden in Norgate because I have a personal connection to it!
Martin Elliott (“Sam”) Sowden was born on January 21, 1887 to Samuel and Zerviah Sowden in the Simcoe area of Ontario. In the 1901 census, he was a 14 year old, living with his family in Woodhouse, Norfolk, Ontario but by the time of the 1911 census, Sam had apparently flown the coop to a mystery location until 1927, when he showed up in the North Vancouver City Directory as an employee of the Canadian Bank of Commerce at 92 Lonsdale and also as a resident at the same location! Sam must have really loved his job!
Canadian Bank of Commerce (originally Bank of Hamilton) c 1912. Courtesy of Monova. Inv 14842.
The building at 92 Lonsdale still stands today and is now Obsession Bikes with commercial offices above. The entrance to those offices is through a different door off Lonsdale, and accessed by the original cage elevator which has a sign that says “do not use when the office is unoccupied!”. How’s that for reassurance? As a testament to its former use, there are still 8 safes hidden throughout the building, including 2 large walk-in safes in the bike shop. I guess that the distribution of the cash throughout the building was a form of risk management in banking at the time !
Bank safe in upper office at 92 Lonsdale Avenue
According to the 1929 City Directory – a veritable treasure trove of personal information of the time - Sam Sowden had received a promotion as he was now the bank manager and had his own house, located at 827 Sutherland. When the City directories started listing wives and adult children in 1934, it was revealed that Sam was married to Rita Winnifred Sowden with two children, Robert Elliott (Bob) and Joan Winnifred. They lived at 827 Sutherland until 1939.
827 Sutherland Street, North Vancouver
And this is where the personal connection comes into play! In 1940, Sam and Rita Sowden and their adult children moved around the corner to 732 East 8th which is my house today. At that time, according to the City Directory, Joan was 18 and a student, while Robert was working as a clerk at the bank.
Sam Sowden in front of 732 East 8th Street, Date Unknown. Photo courtesy of Robert Sowden.
In 1944, after 17 years in banking, Sam left for a 2nd career, this time in politics. Sam was appointed as the Commissioner of the DNV from 1945-1951 while the DNV was in receivership and needed the guidance of someone with a strong financial background. Once the DNV came out of receivership, Sam became the Reeve (mayor) from 1951-1952. He also even briefly served as an MLA from 1952-1953.
Reeve Sam Sowden (left side of stage with hand on chair), April 19, 1952. Image courtesy of MONOVA. Inv. 281
One of Sam’s most significant contributions to the DNV was to spearhead the development of Norgate Park Community Association in the late 40’s and early 50’s, after it was decided that Norgate was not suitable for the Capilano Air Park (a small plane landing field). With the help of a developer/construction mogul named Norman Hullah, 400 modest rancher homes were built in the Norgate area, most of which still stand today.
Eventually Sam and his 2nd wife, Beatrice Elliott (Rita died in 1952), moved into the new development, and occupied 1311 Oakwood Crescent. Sam’s contribution to the development of Norgate was so significant that there is street named after him, just a few short blocks from his former home on Oakwood. There is also a park in Pemberton Heights named after him.
1311 Oakwood Crescent, Norgate, North Vancouver. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Clay.
Sam Sowden died in 1962 at the age of 74 and is buried at the North Vancouver cemetery so I never met him. But I was lucky enough to meet his daughter, Joan, who knocked on our front door in 2001 to say “hi”. Her husband was mortified that she would do this but we were thrilled to have connected with her.
Rita (Sowden) and Norman McLeod with Kristen, daughter of Jennifer Clay, Spring 2001 at 732 East 8th Street
So that’s the story of Sowden Street! What street name makes you wonder about its origin? Leave a comment for us and we try to provide an answer in a future blog post.
Tombstone of Sam and Rita Sowden, Capilano Cemetery, Photo courtesy of Jennifer Clay