The First Stores in Harewood

JRGO
Sep 18
2 min read

Updated: Oct 5

September 18, 2025

Over the years, Harewood has been home to a vibrant and bustling business community. But where was Harewood's first store located?

According to The Land of Wakesiah, a history book published by the Harewood Centennial Committee in 1967,

The first store in Harewood was constructed in 1910 at the corner of Bruce Avenue and Fourth Street by Mr. Storey. It was a one-room store with a lean-to warehouse at the back. The Storeys operated the store until 1913 when they were forced out of business by the great mine strike of 1912-14.

Henry Watson then rented the store until 1919, when Mr. Storey returned from overseas and decided to operate the family store. In 1921 the Storeys sold the store to Mr. Bob Burns [pictured above] who operated it until the mid-1940's when he sold out to Alex Speller. The Burns' opened the Jean Burns Clothing Store in Nanaimo. Some years later, Alex Speller sold out to Harry Veale who in turn re-sold to Ed Anderson, the present owner.

The second store (McFarlane’s) was built at Leonard’s Corner (7th and Bruce) in 1918 and the third store was opened on Fourth Street in 1921 by Henry Watson, who had previously operated the first store.

Here's a picture of the second store, also from The Land of Wakesiah.

This all seems to check-out with historical records and personal stories published on Facebook, but one odd thing stands out.

The Nanaimo Heritage Register says 423 Fourth Street (the second store opened by Watson, mentioned previously) was also constructed in 1910 – so maybe it was built in 1910 and not opened as a store until 1921.

I couldn't find any other records about the stores, except this photo and post from Facebook about Watson selling the store to the Fryer family.