Piece of Calgary’s history arrives at antique shop

CALGARY, AB – Bill Picken, owner of Heirlooms Antiques Calgary, got quite excited recently when a piece of his city’s early history showed up at his shop at 7004 Macleod Trail SE. 

Now in his store is a prayer chair that once belonged to Peter Prince, the General Manager of Eau Claire Lumber from 1886-1926 and the person for whom Prince’s Island Park is named for.

Prayer chair of Peter Prince, Calgary pioneer businessman – a Treasures photo	The Prince House at Heritage Park. – photo courtesy Heritage Park Historical Village

By 1894 Prince had built his 3,300 square foot Queen Anne style home complete with eight bedrooms, servants’ quarters and modern utilities. The house now stands in Calgary’s Heritage Park Historical Village.

Prince later invested in other enterprises including a foundry, flour mill, meat packing plant, brewery, grain elevators and the oil and gas industry. He was responsible for establishing Calgary’s first electrical utility, the Calgary Water Power Company.

Picken is always interested in the provenance of pieces that come into his shop, especially something with a significant local historical connection.

The prayer chair which stands at 24” high and 14 1/2” wide is priced at $395.

For more info visit www.antiquescalgary.com or call 403-720-4100.