McPHERSON, William Rone (1847- c. 1904) was recorded as a busy and apparently successful architect in Grand Forks, British Columbia from 1899 to 1904 (Henderson’s British Columbia Gazetteer & Directory, 1900-01, 293, 1178). He was born in the USA on 8 May 1847 and emigrated to Canada in 1897. His name continues to appear in Grand Forks in the yearly editions of the provincial directory until 1904. A lengthy list of buildings which he designed in that town was published in The Province [Vancouver], 8 September 1899, page 7. The list of works which appears below has been extracted from this article. In 1902 it was reported that McPherson had moved his office from British Columbia in Canada to the town of Wenatchee in Washington State (Phoenix Pioneer, 4 Oct. 1902, 4).
(works in Grand Forks, B.C.)
YALE HOTEL, Riverside Avenue at Bridge Street, “....on the bank of the north fork of the Kettle River”, 1898-99 (Grand Forks Miner, 24 Dec. 1898, 1, descrip.; Province [Vancouver], 13 March 1899, 1, extensive descrip.; Boundary Creek Times [Greenwood], 22 March 1899, 5)
BIDEN BLOCK, First Street at Winnipeg Avenue, to be occupied by the Eastern Townships Bank and by the Granby Smelting Co., 1899
RIVERSIDE STREET, near Winnipeg Avenue, store and office block for Frank Coryell, 1899
WINNIPEG AVENUE, near Riverside, two stores, with flats above, for Miss May Stark, 1899
WINNIPEG AVENUE, near First Street, commercial block for Commodore Biden, for offices of The Grand Fork Miner Newspaper Co., and with Public Hall above, 1899
SECOND STREET, near Main Street, large residence for Mrs. Anna Hames, 1899
SECOND STREET, residence for Mrs. Carrie L. Young, 1899
MAIN STREET, “near the Episcopal Church”, a residence for Hugh Sweeney, 1899
VICTORIA AVENUE, six cottages for the townsite company, 1899
RIVERSIDE AVENUE, near the Alberta Hotel, a commercial block for Charles Cummings and James Addison, 1899
FIRST STREET, at Winnipeg Avenue, a commercial block for Mrs. Margueretta Folger, 1899
GRAND FORKS TOWN HALL & FIRE HALL, 1900 (Victoria Daily Times, 6 Sept. 1900, 7, descrip.)
(works elsewhere)
GREENWOOD, B.C., a new commercial block for Rendell & Co., 1899 (Boundary Creek Times [Greenwood], 22 March 1899, 5)
PHOENIX, B.C., a two storey commercial block for Messrs. Graves & Williams, Old Ironsides Avenue at First Street, 1900 (Phoenix Pioneer, 21 July 1900, 4, descrip.)