Document generated on 09/29/2021 4:29 p.m. Urban History Review Revue d'histoire urbaine The Keepers of the Gate The Inequality of Property Ownership During the Winnipeg Real Estate Boom of 1881-82 David G. Burley Volume 17, Number 2, October 1988 Article abstract Recent scholarship has identified inequality in real property ownership as a URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1017652ar constant feature of urban social structure. This study of Winnipeg during the DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1017652ar boom of 1881-82 examines the reproduction of that inequality in terms of the strategies employed by major landowners to profit in an inflationary real See table of contents estate market. Such men preferred to invest in rental properties, especially commercial accommodation. Best able to do so were those members of the bourgeoisie who, by virtue of their early arrival, had acquired cheap vacant Publisher(s) land, the sale of which financed their acquisition of rental units. Thus, the reproduction of inequality involved the conversion of prior advantage in one Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine real estate market, that for vacant land, into an advantage in a second market, that for rental accommodation. ISSN 0703-0428 (print) 1918-5138 (digital) Explore this journal Cite this article Burley, D. G. (1988). The Keepers of the Gate: The Inequality of Property Ownership During the Winnipeg Real Estate Boom of 1881-82. Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine, 17(2), 63–76. https://doi.org/10.7202/1017652ar All Rights Reserved © Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine, 1988 This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/ This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ The Keepers of the Gate: The Inequality of Property Ownership the Winnipeg Real Estate Boom of 1881-82 David G. Burley Abstract Recent scholarship has identified Land, not furs or wheat or some other urban development. Human agency was its inequality in real property ownership as mercantile prospect, first inspired major creator. Those aspiring to control the a constant feature of urban social speculative interest in Winnipeg. With the gateway, it will be argued, sought to acquire structure. This study of Winnipeg opening of the Canadian north west to empty space for its exchange value and then during the boom of 1881-82 examines settlement after 1870, some place was to convert the profits realized in its sale to the reproduction of that inequality in destined to fill the same role that Cincinnati, investments in use value, particularly in terms of the strategies employed by Chicago, and St Paul had played earlier — a commercial and residential rental major landowners to profit in an gateway in the settling of new territory. And accommodation. Men on the site early, inflationary real estate market. Such those who owned real estate in the gateway especially those among the bourgeoisie, may men preferred to invest in rental might expect to capture the inevitable have been best able to acquire vacant land properties, especially commercial appreciation in its value from the passage of cheaply. But it was the boom of 1881 -82 that accommodation. Best able to do so people, commodities, and capital and to profit created a market for a commodity of limited were those members of the bourgeoisie from the development of the region's intrinsic value which, none the less, financed who, by virtue of their early arrival, residential, commercial, and transportation the production of an inequality from which had acquired cheap vacant land, the infrastructure. They were the keepers of the the gatekeepers sought benefit. sale of which financed their acquisition gateway. of rental units. Thus, the reproduction By good fortune, major contemporary efforts of inequality involved the conversion of Before Canadian Pacific Railway confirmed, at collecting data coincided with particular prior advantage in one real estate on 16 June 1881, that its main line would phases of the boom. The preface to the city market, that for vacant land, into an indeed pass through Winnipeg, investing in directory for 1881 bears the date 1 March advantage in a second market, that for land was, to borrow a phrase from the Manitoba and claims that its contents were being rental accommodation. Free Press, "to take part in the vast lottery of made available one month after the this territory."1 Men will gamble. Both the information had been gathered, presumably anticipation of such a decision and, after its in late January or February.4 The dominion Résumé announcement, the seduction by the infinite census of 1881 was enumerated in March possibilities read into it fuelled a frantic real and April and was finished the first week of Des travaux récents faits par des estate boom in 1881 which lasted through May, like the directory near the beginning of spécialistes ont démontré que Vinégalité the spring of 1882. The quintessence of the speculative boom. The completion of the existant au niveau de la possession de prairie boosterism, the boom has merited assessment roll of 1882 was delayed until propriétés immobilières est une mention in most historical studies of the city April, near the end of the boom. Normally the 2 caractéristique de la structure sociale and the region. But the speed at which titles city assessor would have started to urbaine. La présente étude portant sur changed hands and the daily escalation of assemble the 1882 tax rolls late in 1881 for Winnipeg dans les années 1881 et 1882 land prices have made it difficult to study the completion early in 1882. But a federal examine comment cette inégalité s'est boom in more than an impressionistic election was scheduled for 1882 and, since perpétuée, en s'attardant aux stratégies fashion, as a colourful event involving voter lists were compiled from the most 3 utilisées par d'importants propriétaires colourful characters. By using the municipal recent assessment rolls in order to verify fonciers en vue de tirer profit d'un tax assessment rolls for 1882, this study property qualifications, considerable partisan marché immobilier continuellement à la attempts to freeze the action at one moment interest focused upon the assessment hausse. Ces hommes préféraient investir in the midst of the boom and thereby to process. In December 1881 Winnipeg dans des propriétés données en examine the distribution of real property Conservatives charged that Archibald location, spécialement des propriétés ownership. The principal question in the McNee, the Liberal city assessor, was fiddling commerciales. Les membres de la study is what strategies did the men trying to the rolls so as to underassess the property of bourgeoisie étaient particulièrement become gatekeepers to the west employ? potential Conservative voters. To bien placés pour agir de la sorte. En disenfranchise them, he supposedly reduced effet, parce qu'ils étaient parmi les Inequality in property ownership, a necessary the value of those dwellings just exceeding premiers arrivants, ils avaient pu consequence of gatekeeper activity, the voters' qualification to a value just below acheter des terres inoccupées à bas prix rendered Winnipeg, at least in terms of the the level. Moreover, he stood accused of pour ensuite les revendre afin d'acheter distribution of wealth, no frontier of open favouring Liberals by undervaluing their des immeubles locatifs. Ainsi, une opportunity. Yet, inequality did not arise personal property assessment. Conservative inégalité se reproduisait grâce au necessarily as a functional component of candidates won the election for positions of 63 Urban History Review/Revue d'histoire urbaine Vol. XVII, No. 2 (October 1988) Winnipeg Real Estate Boom, 1881-82 transfert d'un premier avantage dont the 1882 council and in January a Special city in the form of property occupancy bénéficiaient certaines personnes sur un Committee of Investigation into the and/or ownership. The 1881 directory marché immobilier, celui des terres Assessment of 1881 concluded that McNee proved a useful check to the census, making inoccupées, vers un autre marché, celui had failed to discharge his duties responsibly. it possible to identify a man assessed for des propriétés donnéen en location. The next month City Council appointed three municipal taxes as persistent if he was listed new assessors. Some work had been done there but not in the census. on the 1882 rolls in late 1881, but the controversy had halted any progress, and the After the total value of the property owned by assessment was not completed until the end each individual was established from the of April.5 Though the scandal cost McNee assessment rolls, the names were sought in his job, it was fortuitous for the historian since the census and the directories. Because an the assessment was delayed until late in the individual might own several pieces of boom.6 Thus, the directory and the census property within one ward and in more than near the beginning and the assessment near one of the city's four wards, each assessed the end, bracket the most intense phase in person's total holdings had to be established the growth of the real estate market. as the first step. Within each ward the task was facilitated by an index to multiple Those participating in the real estate market property holdings assembled by the can be categorized according to two factors: assessors. Between wards the connections length of residence in the city and class.