SMITH, William Morgan (1852-1931), active as a successful architect in Saint John, New Brunswick from 1875 until 1881. Morgan was born in Canada on 20 January 1852 but no information has been found on his education or training. In 1875, at the age of 23 years, he commenced practise under his own name in Saint John. The Great Fire in that city on 20 June 1877 had a significant impact on the architectural profession in New Brunswick, and just two days after this event, Smith had joined forces with R.C. John Dunn, another Saint John architect, to form the new partnership of Smith & Dunn, Architects.
During the next two years, they completed nearly 30 commissions for residential and commercial buildings as part of the major effort to rebuild the entire core area of the city. After the dissolution of their partnership in May 1878, Smith continued to practise under his own name for the next three years, preparing plans for institutional, commercial and residential works in Saint John. In addition to his own projects, he served as local supervising architect to William G. Preston, a talented Boston architect who received commissions to design new buildings in Saint John after the Great Fire. Smith was also credited with the plans for three elaborate outdoor archway structures which spanned streets and intersections in Saint John and were erected for the visit of Marquis of Lorne in the summer of 1879.
No references to works by Smith can be found after 1881. In 1890, the local newspapers reported that W. Morgan Smith “…had recently moved from Saint John to Medford, Massachusetts” (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 16 April 1890). Medford is located 3 miles northwest of downtown Boston, and Smith remained in the Boston area for the duration of his career, and continued to practise there as an architect. He later died in Boston on 14 March 1931.
W. Morgan SMITH
(works in Saint John N.B. unless noted)
BRUSSELS STREET, building for James Stack, 1875 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 14 May 1875, page ??)
CARMARTHEN STREET, at Duke Street, pair of houses for Joseph Henderson, 1875 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 3 Aug. 1875, page ??)
MANUFACTURER'S & MECHANICS EXHIBITION, alterations to the existing Skating Rink Building and the Intercolonial Railway sheds in Saint John to serve as exhibit halls, with new ancillary buildings, 1875 (Halifax Evening Reporter, 25 Aug. 1875, 3, descrip.)
QUEEN STREET, at Prince William Street, residence for John Foster, 1875 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 18 Nov. 1875, page ??)
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I., mansion for William H. Pope, 1875 (Island Argus [Charlottetown], 12 Oct. 1875, 1, descrip.)
SMITH & DUNN
PRINCE WILLIAM STREET, at Duke Street, rebuilding of house for Patrick Morrisey, 1877 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 29 June 1877, 1; Daily News [Saint John], 29 Nov. 1877, 3)
PRINCESS STREET, pair of houses for George Thomas, 1877 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 29 June 1877, 1; Daily News [Saint John], 12 Dec. 1877, 2)
LEINSTER STREET, residence for George V. Nowlin, 1877 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 5 July 1877, 2)
PITT STREET, residence for Edward K. Fisher, 1877 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 5 July 1877, 2)
KING STREET, commercial block for William Kennedy, 1877 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 5 July 1877, 2)
CHURCH STREET, block for George A. Knodell, 1877 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 6 July 1877, 2; Daily News [Saint John], 30 Nov. 1877, 3)
KING SQUARE, south side, residence for Louis Ansley, 1877 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 13 July 1877, 1)
ORANGE STREET, residence for Robert Blair, 1877 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 13 July 1877, 1; Daily News [Saint John], 18 Dec. 1877, 3)
(with William G. Preston) POLICE STATION, King Street near Carmarthen Street, 1877-78 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 17 Sept. 1877, 2; Morning Freeman [Saint John], 1 Nov. 1877, 3, descrip.; American Architect & Building News [Boston], iii, 4 May 1878, 157, descrip. and illus. plate)
(with William G. Preston) LONDON HOUSE, commercial block for Daniel & Boyd, Market Square at Chipman's Hill, 1877-78 (Morning Freeman [Saint John], 11 Sept. 1877, 3, descrip.; Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 8 June 1878, 3, descrip.)
CHARLOTTE STREET, at Duke Street, block for Miss Agnes Stewart, 1877 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 24 Sept. 1877, 2; Daily News [Saint John], 3 Dec. 1877, 3)
SAINT JOHN DAILY NEWS LTD., Canterbury Street, offices and printing plant, 1877 (Daily News [Saint John], 28 Sept. 1877, 3, descrip.)
NELSON STREET, at Dock Street, block for Daniel Patton, 1877-78 (Daily News [Saint John], 22 Nov. 1877, 3)
KING STREET, at Canterbury Street, block for John Vassie, 1877-78 (Morning Freeman [Saint John], 29 Sept. 1877, 3, descrip.; Daily News [Saint John], 26 Nov. 1877, 3)
FERRY TOLL HOUSE, Johnson's Wharf, Princess Street at Water Street, 1877-78 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 1 Dec. 1877, 2, t.c.; Daily Sun [Saint John], 11 Nov. 1878, 3, descrip.)
LEINSTER STREET, residence for Joseph Edgar, 1877-78 (Daily News [Saint John], 11 Dec. 1877, 2)
PRINCESS STREET, block for Knox & Thompson, 1877-78 (Daily News [Saint John], 13 Dec. 1877, 3)
PRINCESS STREET, residence for William Sandall, 1877-78 (Daily News [Saint John], 13 Dec. 1877, 3)
DUKE STREET, residence for John Corbett, 1877-78 (Daily News [Saint John], 14 Dec. 1877, 3)
DUKE STREET, residence for Thomas Gilmour, 1877-78 (Daily News [Saint John], 14 Dec. 1877, 3)
ORANGE STREET, residence for George McLeod, 1878 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 14 Feb. 1878, 2, t.c.)
SYDNEY STREET, at St. James Street, residence for Patrick Ferrie, 1877 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 5 July 1877, 2)
SYDNEY STREET, at Queen Street, residence for James Knox, 1877 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 5 July 1877, 2)
KING STREET, at Canterbury Street, commercial block for D.J. McLauglin Jr., 1877 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 5 July 1877, 2)
W. Morgan SMITH
MAIN STREET, near Simonds Street, store for Anthony Cain, 1878 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 21 Aug. 1878, 3, descrip.)
PRINCESS STREET, near Pitt Street, residence for Joseph E. Arrowsmith, 1878 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 8 Oct. 1878, 2, descrip.)
LEINSTER STREET, residence for Andrew J. Armstrong, 1878 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 21 Nov. 1878, 3, descrip.)
PARTRIDGE ISLAND, N.B., steam fog whistle station, 1878; major alterations to Quarantine Buildings, 1880 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 26 Oct. 1878, 2, descrip.; 15 July 1880, 3, descrip.)
WATERLOO STREET, near St. Mary's Anglican Church, pair of houses for Cornelius McGourty, 1878 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 19 Nov. 1878, 3, descrip.)
CHARLOTTE STREET ARCH, erected for the visit of the Governor General The Marquis of Lorne, 1879 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 30 July 1879, 3, descrip.)
KING SQUARE ARCH, erected for the tour of the Marquis of Lorne and Princess Louise, 1879 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 2 Aug. 1879, 3, descrip.)
INDIANTOWN ARCH, Bridge Street at Main Street, erected for the tour of the Marquis of Lorne and Princess Louise, 1879 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 2 Aug. 1879, 3, descrip.)
CITY MARKET HALL DECORATIONS, erected for the visit of the Governor General The Marquis of Lorne, 1879 (Saint John Weekly Freeman, 9 Aug. 1879, 2, descrip.)
THISTLE CURLING CLUB, off Cliff Street at the rear of the Cathedral, 1879 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 10 Oct. 1879, 3, descrip.)
CARLETON FREE CHRISTIAN BAPTIST CHURCH, Charlotte Street, 1880 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 18 June 1880, 3, descrip.; 23 July 1880, 1)
(with Thomas S. Scott) DORCHESTER, N.B., Federal Penitentiary Building, 1880, completion of the building begun by Matthew Stead Sr. in 1878 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 14 July 1880, 2, descrip.)
(with Thomas S. Scott) SAINT JOHN, N.B., Federal Post Office Building, 1880, completion of the building begun by Matthew Stead Sr. in 1878 (Morning Herald [Halifax], 30 Sept. 1880, 2, t.c.)
DORCHESTER, N.B., Methodist Church, 1880-82 (A. Tizzard, Methodism-A Flame: Dorchester N.B., 1978, 35, descrip. & illus.)