Beaver Lumber Co was once one of Canada’s largest supply chain stores. Beginning in 1883, it was one of the country’s major suppliers of lumber and building materials. Over the years, the company bought smaller lumber chains and expanded to 130 stores across Canada. In 1972, Beaver Lumber Co was bought by Molson Canadian.

Following some unsuccessful attempts for expansion, Molson sold the rest of the chain to Home Hardware in 1999. The last operational Beaver Lumber head office is now home to Brookfield Properties in Ontario, and Robsart is the location for one of the last remaining original storefronts.

Photo: na, Public Domain

In 1910, the Canadian Pacific Railway bought a small section of land named after Amy Robsart, a character from Sir Walter Scott’s novel Kenilworth. The Canadian Pacific Railway completed the Stirling-Weyburn train line in the early 1900s, and as a result, the town of Robsart boomed to nearly 350 residents. The growing town exploded with new businesses, including a school, community bank, public hospital, grain elevators and more. Following a fire and the Great Depression, Robsart was eventually abandoned and became an unincorporated hamlet in early 2002. It is now considered a ghost town. Remains of the railway can still be seen in Robsart, which reminds me of the days when its motto was ‘A town with a bright future.’

Photo: John Asplund, Public Domain