Fonds Add. MSS. 222 - Woodward family fonds

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.