William Roper Hull

“There will be a city of at least 25,000. I see houses, schools, shops and churches and everything one needs for a happy life and I will help to build it.”

William Roper Hull (1856-1925) was an entrepreneur, visionary, and philanthropist. His contributions to Calgary, Alberta and Western Canada left a blueprint for others to follow.  

William grew up in Dorset, England but traveled to Kamloops in 1873 with his brother to work at their uncle’s ranch. They worked there for several years before saving up enough money to purchase their own ranch.  

From here, William established many more ranches, introduced the first large-scale mechanical irrigation system to southern Alberta, and employed hundreds of Calgarians in his meatpacking enterprise.   

After bad weather began to disrupt the success of the Alberta ranching industry, William turned his business ventures to real estate. He became responsible for many notable Calgary landmarks. These included the Grain Exchange building, (the city’s first skyscraper and the first building in western Canada to use reinforced concrete.) The Alberta Block, the Albion Block, the Radio Block, Alberta’s first cultural building, and the Hull Opera House.  

Although these are great accomplishments, they are not the reason Hull has been written into history. It is because of his qualities as a community-minded citizen and philanthropist— his generous spirit and a genuine interest in the well-being of others.  

Even at the time of his death in 1925, Hull continued to show his dedication, bequeathing a large portion of his land and money to the building of a charity dedicated to the well-being of children and young people. When his wife Emmaline died in 1953, Hull’s estate was used as a home for orphaned children.  

Today, Hull Services carries on his legacy by helping thousands of Calgary’s most vulnerable children and their families each year.