JOHN GOODWIN WATSON


City of Calgary Alderman, 1906 July 23 - 1910 January 3

City of Calgary Alderman, 1911 January 2 - 1912 May 27

John Goodwin Watson . -- 1906-1912.

Biography of John Goodwin Watson:

John Goodwin "Gravity" Watson was born in 1858.

He came west with his family in the 1890s, arriving in Calgary in 1905. Mr. Watson was first elected to

City Council in 1906 and actively lobbied for a gravity fed water system. Largely through his efforts, a

gravity system was constructed, supplying Calgary with water from the Elbow River.

Mr. Watson was also an enthusiastic promoter of the potential for gas development in Turner Valley. He

was a firm believer in the City owning and controlling its supply of natural gas and promoted without

success the idea that the City drill its own wells.

A stone mason by trade, Mr. Watson, established and operated a quarry on the south side of the Bow

River. Stone from the quarry was used in several important Calgary buildings, including City Hall and

Central Collegiate High School (now Dr. Carl Safron School).

John Goodwin "Gravity" Watson retired to Vancouver and died there 1927 February 11.