Edwin Atwater

Canadian businessman and politician (1808–1874)

Edwin Atwater (September 14, 1808 – June 18, 1874) was a Canadian businessman, corporate director and municipal politician in Montreal. He started a business dealing paints, varnish and plate glass, and was the first business to import glass into Canada. He served on the jury for the murder trial of François Jalbert, accused of murdering a British officer during the Lower Canada Rebellion. The jury acquitted Jalbert, in spite of strong public opinion by the anglophone community in favour of a guilty verdict. In 1846 he was a founder of the Montreal City and District Savings Bank, which continues in business today as the Laurentian Bank of Canada. He held various positions in the company. He was elected as a councillor to the Montreal City Council in 1850, and two years later was elected as an alderman to the same council. His focus as an elective representative was to improve the city's water infrastructure. In 1861 he was president of the Montreal Board of Trade and continued participating in business ventures in the Montreal area. In 1871 Montreal named a street after him in the ward that he represented on city council. Since then, the Atwater Library, Atwater Market, and Atwater station have also been named for him.

Atwater was born on September 14, 1808, in Williston, Vermont. His father was Linus Atwater. Atwater immigrated to Lower Canada in 1830, settling in Montreal and working as a sign and house painter. He then started a business dealing in paints, varnish and plate glass with his brother, Albert; they would become the first people to import glass into Canada. In the same year he co founded the Montreal Telegraph Company, the city's first telegraph service. In 1849 he co founded the Montreal and Troy Telegraph Company. He was one of the co founders of the Merchants' Bank, sat on their board of directors and became vice president. He was also vice president and a board member for the Citizens' Insurance Company of Canada. In 1872, Atwater purchased $2000 worth of stocks in the Montreal Colonization Railway, joining other businessmen with investing into the company. The goal of the railway was to increase the transport of goods from the Ottawa Valley to Montreal, thereby reinforcing the city's status as a hub of commercial activity. The railway was also to be a competitor to the Grand Trunk Railway.

Atwater was a member of the American Presbyterian Church. He married Lucy Huntington Greene on May 23, 1833. They had eight children, four daughters and four sons. The City of Montreal named Atwater Avenue after him in 1871 in the Saint Antoine ward that he represented as a municipal councillor. He died on June 18, 1874, after being ill for several weeks.