Don Derigo Nojada Gomez da Silva Fonseca (1823-1905)

W.G. Fonseca. Credit

Born in St. Croix in the West Indies, Don Derigo Nojada Gomez da Silva Fonseca was reportedly a cousin of a President of Brazil, Deradora d Silva Fonseca. In 1840, he left St. Croix for New York City (then a city of 310,000 souls living below 14th Street) where he received business training as an apprentice, and shortened his name to William Gomez. By 1850, he was doing business in St. Paul, at the time an isolated town in Minnesota Territory experiencing a boom. After nine years there, he traveled to the Red River settlement with a caravan of Red River Carts, arriving in the spring of 1860, crossing the river and landing at what would later be the foot of Lombard street.

Spending his first night in the boat on the western banks of the river, Fonseca went ashore, meeting Andrew McDermot, then the most prosperous free traders at River. Fonseca first rented a log house near Redwood, near the present Redwood Bridge, where he sold the goods he had brought with him from St. Paul. With that money, he purchased the lot in Point Douglas, along a street that Fonseca would lay out and call Maple, after the trees he planted there. The property would be subdivided over the years to make way for new developments, but much of the grounds around the house, known as Maple Place, would remain surrounded by trees and gardens.

Maple Place and its environs, 1905. The Fonseca residence is seen in the centre

Later that year, Fonseca went into business with another recent arrival from the U.S., Edmund Lorenzo Barber. In 1861 he opened a store with William Logan, which was "situated near the Old Mill" on the Logan estate, not far from Maple Place.

Fonseca Terrace. Built on the south side of the Fonseca estate at 99-111 Henry Avenue circa 1872--perhaps the first "multi-family dwelling" built in the city. Fonseca can be seen standing on the sidewalk in the centre

In 1869, Fonseca was arrested and detained for two days by Riel when shipping goods from St. Paul to Red River, but was released on account of his American citizenship.

In addition to his business ventures, Fonseca was intensely involved in city affairs, serving six terms as Alderman, a school trustee, as well as serving on the Vestry of St. John's Cathedral for 36 years and numerous other committees. By 1871, Fonseca had built a new house for his young family on the east side of Maple Street, and donated the old log house across the road to the newly-created Winnipeg School Division. It was used as the first public school in the West. Fonseca also donated land to the Manitoba College, which opened at the corner of Main and Henry Avenue in 1874.

Invitation to dinner party at Maple Place, August 26, 1904

The funeral for William Fonseca took place at 3:00 in the afternoon of April 25, 1905, proceeding from the family home on Maple, to a service at Christ Church located at Princess and Higgins Avenue, then up to St. John's church yard, where Fonseca was buried in a graveside ceremony conducted by The Archbishop Matheson. The service was well attended, with many of Fonseca's contemporaries in attendance: Lady Schultz, E.L. Drewry, and the Bannatyne's. Sir Daniel MacMillan, Sheriff Inkster, James Ashdown, Edmund Barber, Judge Walker, Dr. O'Donnell, and J.D. Moore were the pallbearers.

By 1911, the Fonseca's had moved from Maple Street. Mrs. Margaret Fonseca lived at 602 Wardlaw with her brother John Logan. A son, Benjamin, lived at the family's Wolseley Hotel, and other siblings lived in different houses on River Avenue. By 1928, the old family home, its maple, plum, and crab apple trees cleared away, and the site became a trucking yard.

Since the area that Fonseca lived and invested in was subject to decades of decline and urban renewal projects, the only remaining legacy of the pioneering Point Douglas entrepreneur is the Mount Royal Hotel at 186 Higgins Avenue, which Fonseca and his sons built in 1904.

The Wolseley Hotel on Higgins Avenue, can be seen on the left. Across the street is the imposing Royal Alexandra Hotel. Credit

Mount Royal Hotel, built by W.G. Fonseca in 1904. Credit