James Welton Horne (November 3, 1853 – February 21, 1922) was a land developer, businessman and political figure in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He represented

Vancouver City Vancouver City was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1917. This riding was created in 1903 from parts of Burrard riding. It was abolished in 1914 whe ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

from 1890 to 1894. He was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, the son of Christopher Horne and Elizabeth Harriet Orr, and was educated in Toronto,

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

and Belleville. Horne began work with the Stathacona Fire Insurance Company and later went into business on his own as a financial, real estate and insurance broker. In 1878, he moved his office to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. In 1881, Horne purchased land and established the city of

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

on a railway junction. He was elected chairman of the board of public works for the new town. In 1885, he moved west to Coal Harbour. He invested money in downtown Mission, laid out the streets and advertised a "Great Land Sale" in 1891 to attract settlers to the area. Horne established the street railway in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, helped promote the development of the electric light company and played an important role in establishing a tramway between Vancouver and New Westminster. He served on Vancouver city council from 1888 to 1890 and also was chairman of the board of parks commissioners for six years. Horne established a zoo and turned it over to the city of Vancouver. He died in Vancouver at the age of 68.

References

1853 births 1922 deaths Politicians from Toronto Independent MLAs in British Columbia {{BritishColumbia-MLA-stub