By Marie Williams, for the G&DHS Facebook Page, January 9, 2026:
Among the many artifacts at the Glencoe and District Historical Society Archives are some personal items of Archibald William (A.W.) Campbell, who was born on May 14, 1863 in Wardsville.
His father had immigrated to western Upper Canada from Caithness, Scotland and his mother had been brought up on the family farm in Ekfrid Twp. The Campbells moved to the farm from Wardsville in 1864. Archibald received his early education in local schools and graduated from St. Thomas High School. He apprenticed in engineering and surveying for three years to the county engineer of Middlesex and Elgin before being commissioned as a provincial land surveyor in April 1885.
In 1888, he joined the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers and formed a private partnership, specializing in waterworks, drainage systems and bridges. In 1891 Campbell became city engineer and was a founding editor of the monthly “Municipal World” (St. Thomas). He compiled its “Engineering Section.”
Campbell was particularly interested in improved roadways and soon became recognized as a progressive advocate. “A good road-bed pays,” he wrote in May 1892. “It saves power, shortens distance and time, increases speed, insures comfort and safety, and is, in whatever way you state it, a good investment.” Public attention to roads had been eclipsed by enthusiasm for railways but, in the 1890s, the bicycle craze and the formation of the Ontario Good Roads Association spurred renewed interest. Campbell’s concern was practical: the construction and maintenance of good roads, from the farm gate to the markets and the grain elevators, meant that horses could easily pull heavier loads and that transportation costs could be lightened and consumers’ prices lowered. He was also interested in improving the professional status of engineering.
Roadwork was the responsibility of municipalities, which in earlier deys often farmed the tasks out to influential citizens who then employed statute labour, at times resulting in shoddy standards. Campbell used the publication “Municipal World” to champion the use of trained engineers. Campbell’s advocacy led to his appointment in April of 1896 as provincial instructor in roadmaking, under the Minister of Agriculture. In 1900, he became Deputy Minister.
Through his influence, public dependence on statute labour and toll roads was reduced. In 1902 the beleaguered Liberal government, seeking re-election, set aside a million dollars to assist counties in highway construction. Campbell stayed in his post even when the Conservatives replaced the Liberals at Queen’s Park in 1905. The promotion of high-grade roads was a growing concern for provincial authorities, particularly after motor vehicles began appearing. There were 178 automobiles registered in Ontario in 1903 but, in 1910, there were 4,230.
By then, Campbell’s administrative skills had attracted the attention of the federal minister of railways and canals, George Perry Graham, who had him appointed as his deputy minister in February of 1910. In addition, Campbell assumed the chair of the Canadian Government Railways’ managing board. He became the executive officer of one of the largest federal departments, with more than 4,000 employees, including a large, professional engineering corps.
Campbell’s annual report for 1912–13 recorded that 8,591 miles of public and private railways were under construction and 29,303 were in operation. The aggregate tonnage passing through the canals had risen from 47,587,245 to 52,053,913. The most notable projects underway at this time were the National Transcontinental Railway and the new Welland ship canal.
After 1914, Campbell ushered his department through the demands of wartime transportation and nationalizing the Canadian Northern Railway. In June of 1918, he took a leave of absence at full pay to investigate highway improvements for the reconstruction committee of the Union government of Sir Robert Laird Borden. He resigned as Deputy Minister in June 1919 and was appointed Dominion Commissioner of highways.
During his years in Railways and Canals, Campbell had continued his promotion of roads. He attended conferences, gave papers and was active in both the Canadian Cement and Concrete Association and the good roads committee of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers. His appointment in 1919 was linked to the passage that year of the Canada Highways Act, which allocated $20-million over five years to provide 40 per cent of the cost of constructing or improving roads for a national highway system. The provinces would contribute 60 per cent.
All projects had to be approved by both levels of government and had to meet current engineering standards for the type of road (paved or gravel) being built. Campbell and his small staff reviewed all proposals. This shared-cost program was an important stimulus to highway construction in the 1920s. In 1921 Campbell’s office planned 17,951 miles but the combined funding was only a tiny portion of what was needed to build a first-class system. In 1922 there were a mere 1,000 miles of paved highways in Canada. Campbell nonetheless travelled extensively to examine roadways, prepared specifications and worked closely with the provincial departments of highways.
In addition, he was a regular delegate at the conventions of the Canadian Good Roads Association, the Ontario Motor League and the Canadian Automobile Association, where, among other measures, he advocated the abolition of speed limits.
In May of 1927, Campbell, who had just returned from a motor tour of the roads between Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City, died suddenly in his rooms at the Victoria Chambers on Wellington Street, across from his west block office. The cause was stomach haemorrhaging and cardiac failure.
A bachelor, he had devoted his life to his work and his causes – good roads and the professionalization of engineering. During his Ottawa years, he developed an international reputation as an expert on highway construction and maintenance and was known throughout North America and Europe as “Good Roads” Campbell.
After a memorial service at his Ottawa church, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, Senator George Graham, his former minister, accompanied his body by train to Appin for burial in the family plot in Longwoods Cemetery near Melbourne. He had died weeks before his scheduled meeting with the Prince of Wales.
Archie Campbell, the St Thomas Times-Journal noted, “was a maker of Canada and his work is the best and most permanent monument to his memory that could be devised.”
His life, one that began locally, touched millions both during and since his passing.
(Details for post from the Dictionary of Canadian Biography)
