Innisfree is jam packed with history including this 1906 historical landmark. The former Bank of Commerce Building has been developed into a Prairie Bank Museum and is also home to a craft store, art gallery and tourist information.

In 2005, the Bank Museum is undergoing extensive interior and exterior renovations. 

We are still open while work progresses. Thank you for your patience during this time. 

The museum is open daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May long weekend through to Labour Day. 

Special tours are available by appointment, please call the Village of Innisfree.

History

The Innisfree Branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, originally called Canadian Bank of Commerce, was opened in temporary premises on December 11, 106 while the present building was under construction. It was finished during 1907 and began use on December 13 of that year.

According to an article written in 1932 and contained in branch records, the village, up until 1907, was called Delnorte. In the fall of 1905, after the Canadian Northern Railway was completed, Sir Edmund Walker, then President of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, made a cross Canada tour of the area on the railway. Upon stopping in Delnorte, he was taken on a tour by James Hunter, mayor of the village. They walked to the top of the hill to the south of the village where a considerable area could be viewed, and the story goes that Sir Edmund was very impressed with the beautiful view and Birch Lake. He stated that it reminded him very much of the Scottish town of Innisfree, a name said to mean "the little village in the wooded highland." Mayor Hunter is reported to have stated that the town would welcome a branch of the institution such as Sir Edmund represented and assured him if this could be arranged, the name of the village would be changed from Delnorte to Innisfree. However, before Sir Edmund left, Mayor Hunter stated that the name of the village would be changed to Innisfree in honour of Sir Edmund's visit. 

The branch was opened as a sub to the Vegreville branch shortly after Sir Edmund's Walker's visit and in 1906 it was put on an independent basis.

During the rapid expansion into western Canada in the early 1900s, corporations has to figure out a way to erect inexpensive structures in a minimum amount of time. Yet, those structures still had to reflect an air of stability and security to potential investors. A prefab building, marketed by B.C. Mills, offered an ideal solution. 

Components for a single prefab structure could be packed into two box cars for shipping. Approximately 70 of these 'Prairie Type' banks were erected by the Canadian Bank of Commerce between 1906 and 1910, appearing in newly established towns within months of railway construction. 

The Innisfree branch, one of the larger prairie types, was considered the most outstanding of its kind between Edmonton and Battleford.