William Somerville Edmiston

An early farmer in Clover Bar, William Somerville Edmiston served as the town’s first architect, as a town alderman, and as mayor.

 

Edmiston & Flater (1893-1899)

Edmiston & Johnson (1899-1901)

William Somerville Edmiston was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1857. When is was just 26 he emigrated to Edmonton with his wife who hailed from New Brunswick. Edmiston farmed in Clover Bar for about ten years before establishing Edmonton’s first architectural practise in 1892. Within a year he joined Nathaniel G. Flater, and together they designed many of Edmonton’s early buildings including the first town hall and fire station, some rural school houses, and numerous commercial buildings on Jasper Avenue. He is noted for his work on the McDougall Mansion with Henry Denny Johnson.

Edmiston sat on the town council twice as an alderman in 1895 and 1896, and twice as mayor in 1898 and 1899. He was also a charter member of the Edmonton and District Railway. Edmiston died of heart failure in 1903, two weeks after breaking his leg.

Details

Full Name

William Somerville Edmiston

Structures

McDougall Mansion

Time Periods

Urban Settlement: 1870-1904

Neighbourhoods

Downtown

Architectural Styles

Tudor Revival

Character Defining Elements

Balcony, Brackets, Brick cladding, Brick structure, Corbelling, Cornice, Cross gable roof, Dormer, Finial, Irregular footprint, Keystone, Lintel, Pilaster, Portico, Two & a half storeys, Voussoirs, Wooden shingles

Gallery

McDougall Mansion