Matthew McCauley

Matthew McCauley (July 11, 1850 – October 25, 1930) was a Canadian farmer and politician who was the first mayor of the town of Edmonton, and a member of the legislative assemblies of both the Northwest Territories and the province of Alberta.

McCauley was born into a farming family in Sydenham, Canada West (what would become the province of Ontario) to an Irish father and Canadian mother. His restless nature and desire for adventure led him to travel west to Manitoba. In Manitoba, he established a livery business, which he ran until he set off for Edmonton in 1879. He farmed for two years in Fort Saskatchewan before finally moving to Edmonton, where he established the settlement's first livery and cartage business.

Along with a couple prominent Edmonton citizens, he formed an association aimed to restore order in the area, settling many disputes, including during the 1885 Riel Rebellion as its captain. He soon established a school board, recognizing the need for a school, which he served as president and trustee for 18 years. Shortly before Edmonton was incorporated as a town in 1892, he formed the Board of Trade. Upon the town's incorporation, he was acclaimed the town's first mayor in 1892, and the next two years. He did not run for re-election at the end of his third one-year term.

In 1896, he was elected as town alderman.

In August 1896, he ran for the seat representing Edmonton in the Territorial Legislature, which he held for six years. He ran for re-election in 1902, but Richard Secord tooks the seat.

Following this defeat he moved to Tofield, Alberta to farm. In 1905, he returned to Edmonton and was elected to the new Legislative Assembly of Alberta as the member for Vermilion. The following year, he resigned his seat to serve as the first warden of Alberta's first penitentiary. After five years as warden, he moved to British Columbia to own a fruit farm. He moved to a Sexsmith, Alberta farm 13 years later, where he died in 1930.

Early life Matthew McCauley was born July 11, 1850, in Owen Sound, Ontario, to Alexander and Eleanor (née Latimer) McCauley. His father Alexander was an Irish immigrant who was born in Antrim. He moved to Canada at the age of five, and went on to become a successful farmer. Though his early years were described as him being a "typical farm boy" of the time, he received schooling from the Owen Sound Public School. McCauley desired to follow in the footsteps of this father as a farmer after his completing his education, but his restless nature and passion for adventure set him off to the west, where he first set off to Fort Garry (later Winnipeg) in Manitoba. He purchased a farm in Fort Saskatchewan the following spring, and farmed for two years before moving to Edmonton in 1882. Earlier settlers requested that they move three or four miles outwards, but they refused. McCauley sent urgent requests to Ottawa to have authorities take action to settle the disputes in a civil manner, but to no avail. As a result of the government not doing anything and the lack of a law enforcement agency in the town (the NWMP being stationed in Fort Saskatchewan), a group of prominent citizens formed a "Vigilance Committee" (AKA "Protective Association") as an attempt to ensure that property would not be taken away from early settlers holding land by mere possession with no formal title yet being established. McCauley, then still in his 20s, was elected its captain.

As captain, McCauley tried to settle local land disputes and to reach a compromise with claim-jumpers but they "had no desire for a peaceful settlement." He was involved in a brief altercation with a claim jumper, J.M. Bannerman, whom he approached and ordered to move. The man was armed with two revolvers and refused to move, therefore McCauley and his crew jacked the shack off its foundation and sent it down the riverbank. Up on charges, they were found not guilty.

McCauley and the other members of the Committee were sued for damages by the claim jumper J.M. Bannerman, for "willful damage to property." McCauley was fined 40 dollars. Six other members of the committee were also found guilty, but being let off with court costs and an order to replace the damaged property. The Protective Association continued their vigilance in Edmonton, and claim jumpers eventually decided that the area was not the place to build on once the land in the area was surveyed by the Dominion Land Survey and the Hudson's Bay Company.

Edmonton School Board

After realizing Edmonton as a suitable place for raising his children, McCauley soon recognized the community's need for a school. McCauley led a group of prominent men and arranged for a school to be built on land donated by the Hudson's Bay Company. The school district was successfully negotiated with Ottawa, and it became the first of its kind in the North-West Territories.

Edmonton became known as having the "finest school system in the west of Portage la Prairie" that set an example for many other following cities. McCauley served as chairman of the newly formed School Board from 1885 to 1888, when he stepped down, although he served as a trustee for 18 years following.

After Edmonton was incorporated as a town on January 9, 1892, it held its first election in 1892 with McCauley acclaimed as mayor as no other candidates put their names forth.

He led the "Rat Creek Rebellion" of 1892 to prevent an important federal office moving to the rival community of South Edmonton (later City of Strathcona). During his first term as mayor, the Canadian government decided to move the Dominion Land Office from Edmonton to Strathcona, which was then a separate community, on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River. When government agents began to carry out the move, town residents armed themselves and resisted. Headed by McCauley and other prominent Edmontonians, including councillor John Cameron, an angry mob descended on the office, cut the horses loose and tore to pieces the wagon that the official was packing with records for transportation. The situation became heated. A couple days later Mounties were summoned from Fort Saskatchewan, their nearest headquarters. McCauley took the mob of armed townspeople to the bridge over Rat Creek (on the site of today's Commonwealth Stadium). He stood off the police, and they returned to Fort Saskatchewan to request instructions. The government reversed its decision to move the office. Instead it simply opened an additional office in South Edmonton. The Mounties refused to try to enforce law and order in Edmonton for a short time after this, and the Town of Edmonton hired its own constable.

McCauley was re-acclaimed in 1893 and 1894

He also advocated for federal government assistance in building a railway bridge over the North Saskatchewan River needed for a rail connection between Edmonton and Calgary. The bridge's construction was finished in 1900, with the Edmonton Yukon and Pacific Railway being built to the northside in 1902.

In 1896, McCauley sought election to the Town Council, this time as alderman. He was easily elected, finishing first of eight candidates in an election in which the top six were elected (Block Voting was used in this election). He served only a single term, soon seeking a seat at the territorial level.

Territorial and provincial In 1896, McCauley sought to be Edmonton's representative in the North-West Territories Legislature. In the 1896 election, he defeated Alexander Cameron Rutherford and was elected with official Patrons of Industry backing.

During his term as representative, he worked to upgrade Edmonton's school system, along with upgrading the town's trade and industry. McCauley was re-elected in 1898, defeating Rutherford and a third candidate, Harry H. Robertson. Credible allegations were made that the election map was gerrymandered in his favor. He served as Edmonton's member at Regina until 1902, when he was defeated by Richard Secord. During his time in office, McCauley kept his focus on his development of the school system, introducing a single tax bill intended to give school boards power to adopt the single tax as a form of property tax.

In 1901, McCauley sold Edmonton Cartage Company and used the proceeds to buy one thousand acres (4 km²) of farmland at Beaver Lake, near Tofield, Alberta, where he farmed until returning to Edmonton in 1905. While in Tofield, he married Annie Cookson - his first wife, Matilda, had died in 1896 - with whom he had four children, bringing his total to twelve.

McCauley played a vital role in Edmonton being chosen as the provincial capital. In a speech, he pointed out the ongoing development at the northern town of Peace River, Alberta, and how Edmonton would be the "logical centre of the province". He was greatly respected by his colleagues, and it was said that "he never once had a complaint against him from either staff nor inmates." After thirteen years farming in Penticton, he moved to Sexsmith, Alberta to farm on a recently bought 1000-acre farm.

Death and legacy McCauley died in Sexsmith on October 25, 1930, following a long illness. He was survived by his second wife, Annie Cookson, and 11 children and step-children. He was interred at the Edmonton Cemetery. It was said that he "has a strong personality, high ideals and indomitable will and was generous to a fault." Edmonton's McCauley neighbourhood is named for him. What was known as McCauley Plaza was also built on the site of his home, overlooking the North Saskatchewan River. It has since however been renamed Telus Plaza.