McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Henry Watts & Co
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1909-1915
History
Henry Watts & Co was a business based in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia that dealt in real estate securities, arranging the purchase of plots of land for interested buyers. Located in suite 1501 of the Henry W. Oliver Building, the company existed between roughly 1909 and 1915. An August 1911 memorandum of agreement formalized the relationship between Henry Watts and Hugh C. Barr, the other primary agent of Henry Watts & Co. Together they would sell land in Canada, primarily Alberta, to American buyers and split the profits. Henry Watts & Co secured a partnership with Leighton & Gilbert, who were a similar business located in Calgary, and who had the additional advantage of being official agents of the Canadian Pacific Irrigation Colonization Co. Thus, with Leighton & Gilbert notifying them of promising land for sale, Henry Watts & Co. would establish relationships with businessmen around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, invite them to tour Alberta by train, and arrange the sale of land when they closed a deal.