1817. Recorded history of the corner at Boler and Commissioners dates back to 1809. That’s when Archie McMillan was granted the original, 200-acre parcel of land stretching from Southdale Rd. to the Thames River. The area was known as Hall’s Mills and had become a village in 1804, named for postmaster Charles Hall. By 1854, William Hood built the Hood Hotel on that corner, just before Hall’s Mills became Byron, in 1857. Hood sold the hotel to S & J Reynolds, who remained its owners until the early 1960s. The hotel’s fate is unknown. In 1875, longtime resident William Meriam purchased a portion of the property and opened a blacksmith shop. The lot beside that shop was bought in 1916 by another Byron inhabitant, Delmar Wadsworth. Four years later, Delmar and Meriam donated their properties to the Byron Methodist Church in exchange for $1. The church was located beside the firehall, further west on Commissioners Rd., next to where the Byron Memorial Public Library now stands. Church officials built a manse on the newly acquired property that same year, 1920. It became the new home for church ministers for the next several decades. In 1925, the Methodist Church became part of the United Church of Canada. On October 27, 1955, the Byron United Church sold the corner property to the Bank of Montreal for $25,000. No further ownership records are available. The next phase for the premises hasn’t been made public. Thank you Dan Doroshenko for contributing research to this article.
Bank of Montreal Byron on the Move Staff at the Bank of Montreal branch in Byron are excited about moving from the village core to Southdale and Colonel Talbot. After operating for 71 years at 295 Boler Road, Branch Manager Ania Przywara says, it’s time for more room. “The team and I are over the moon to move,” says Ania, a longtime Byron resident and Branch Manager since 2022. “We have outgrown our current facility and look forward to growing with the community in our new location. We will miss our great business neighbours and look forward to serving our clients in the new location.” The new, bigger building has nine offices and three teller wickets. All staff from the original location will move to the new address, and more staff will join the team in the near future. Their last day on Boler is February 20. They’ll spend the weekend setting up before opening in the new building, 960 Southdale Rd. W., on February 23. Byron’s population has ballooned since the bank branch opened in 1955. Back then, it was around 4,000 people and growing fast. Today, more than 16,000 people call Byron home. It’s no wonder the BMO branch needs more elbow room. Having lived in Byron since 1988, Ania has witnessed its growth. Now her new workplace will be able to keep up. Many residents will remember using paper passbooks that were passed to a teller and updated by hand. It seems quaint compared to today’s digital world and online banking. The bank’s property at the southwest corner of Boler Rd. and Commissioners Rd. has seen many changes that go back even further than the bank itself. The Bank of Montreal was founded in
Your BMO Team
We’re making a move to a new location!
On February 20, 2026 after 5 pm, your Byron Branch will be moving and we’re excited to welcome you to our new location. We’re making this change to help us bring you the best customer experience now and in the future.
Hours of Operation: Monday to Wednesday 9:30 am to 5 pm Thursday and Friday 9:30 am to 6 pm Saturday 9:30 am to 4 pm
New Branch Details: Southdale & Colonel Talbot Unit 4, 960 Southdale Rd. W. London, ON, N6K 0M9
To advertise here please contact Barb@villagerpublications.com
Byron Villager Jan/Feb 2026
Page 11
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs