Fonds F946 - Power family collection

John Power (1816-1882) came to Kingston from England in 1846. Given the lack of formal training facilities, it might be assumed that John Power's early architectural training and experience was gained under his father, an architect/builder in Devonshire. In Kingston, it is thought that John Power first assisted in architectural work in the offices of Edward Horsey, a fellow emigrant from Devonshire and probably the brother of John Horsey, with whom Power travelled to Canada. The first professional mention of Power working on his own is an 1850 item in the Kingston Daily News (March 22). Throughout the 1850s, '60s and '70s, Power's practice diversified including designs for houses, both single and multiple, several churches and schoolhouses. In 1862 he began what was to become a series of associations with governmental clients by assuming responsibility as joint architect with William Coverdale for the Watkins Wing of the Kingston General Hospital.

In 1873 Joseph Power (1849-1925) became a partner in his father's architectural firm, which then became known as Power & Son. This name was continued until 1919, in spite of John Power's death in 1882. Around 1880 a younger son, Thomas R.P. Power (1859-1930) also joined the practice although the name of the firm was never changed to reflect this addition to the practice. Colin Drever (1887-1975), educated at Heriot Watt College in Edinburgh and emigrated to Canada in 1911, worked for Power & Son from 1912 to 1915 and again in 1818. He was taken in as a partner in 1919, at which time drawings in the Power Collection began to be signed Power Son & Drever. Powers retired in 1923 leaving Drever on his own until 1945 when he was joined by Harry P. Smith (1905-1983), a graduate of the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Architecture degree (1929). Drever retired in 1967.