Before it was the bank, it was… the bank.  The Merchant’s Bank was opened in the old Cameron Hotel in the late 1800s, and has remained a bank since that time.  In 1913 a second financial institution opened in the village; the Union Bank was located on the corner of Main and Bedford in the old Lockwood’s store with J.J. Gallagher, manager, T.E. McLeod, teller, and Harold Dowdall, ledger-keeper.

Local men gather in front of the bank in 1940. Perhaps some of you may recognize a few of the faces seen here. From the pages of the Westport Mirror.

Wm. Kennedy and his son Arthur stand in front of the Merchant’s Bank on the corner of Main and Spring (current location of the Bank of Montreal) in 1897 or 1900. Wm. would die in 1913 from ‘liver trouble’, according to the Diary of Nell McCann.  Note the boot scraper beside William and the plank walkways before the granolithic walks were installed. This photo is from the archives of The Rideau District Museum and was donated by Beulah Knapp.

It seems like the happening place to be during the time of this old photo (year unknown) was in front of the bank and McEwen’s Pharmacy on Main. From the pages of the Westport Mirror.