The I. G. Baker Company was a mercantile and grocery company based in Fort Benton, Montana, started by Isaac Gilbert Baker and his brother, George Amos Baker, as I. G. Baker & Brother in 1866.[1] After the Conrad brothers (Charles E. & Wm. G.) were admitted as partners in 1873, the company name was changed to I. G. Baker & Co., which name was retained after the Conrads purchased George Baker’s interest in 1874.[1] In 1891, the Canadian assets of the company were purchased by its chief rival there, the Hudson's Bay Company.[2]

The company was prominent in early Western Canadian history. It operated the first store established in Calgary, Alberta in 1875.[3] There were also stores in Fort Macleod and Lethbridge, Alberta and in Fort Walsh, Saskatchewan.

The I. G. Baker Company brought a herd of cattle from Montana to southern Alberta, the first livestock imported for what is now a significant industry in Alberta.

References

  1. ^ a b Klassen, Henry Cornelius. Eye on the future: business people in Calgary and the Bow Valley, 1870-1900. Calgary: Univ. Alberta Press, 2002." Ch 2 is about the Conrads & I. G. Baker & Co., but ch. 1 & 3 are also pertinent.
  2. ^ "HBC Heritage - Our History - Places: Calgary". Hudson's Bay Company. Retrieved 2009-05-17. In 1891 the Company bought out the Canadian assets of I.G. Baker
  3. ^ Foran, Max (1982). Calgary, Canada's frontier metropolis : an illustrated history. Windsor Publications. p. 40. ISBN 0-89781-055-4.
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