26. CIBC Bank

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The Bank – River Street (CIBC) – 74 River St

Today, the CIBC bank sits on the northeast corner of river and Albert Streets. In 1902, a branch of the Western bank of Canada opened in Sunderland. The maps of 1904 show the bank as the Western Bank, but by 1910 it shows it had become the Standard Bank.

Because of the weakening and eventual crash of the stock market in 1929, banks joined forces to stay in business. In 1928, the Standard bank was bought out by the bank of Commerce. Then in 1961 the Imperial bank of Canada amalgamated to form the Canadian Imperial bank of Commerce or CIBC.

This historic structure has stood watch over Sunderland’s main intersection for over a century. During the great fire of 1949, the bank’s staff and some concerned citizens braved the cold and slippery conditions on the roof to help keep the first from spreading, while others quickly moved ledgers and documents into the vault to protect them from peril.

Apparently when the Home bank first started, it was beside Taylor’s store and then it moved over to Bagshaw’s Hardware and that eventually became the Home Hardware. In the early 1900s, the branches of the Western bank here and in Pefferlaw were managed by E. G. Sutherland. Another early bank in Sunderland was the Doble bank of 1886 which was bought out by the Home Bank. The latter bank went insolvent about 1922 during a real estate value crash.