Matthew McCauley was the first mayor of the town of Edmonton. In 1881, he established a livery stable and butcher shop. McCauley also helped to organize Edmonton's first public school in 1881 and was a founding member (served for 18 years) of Edmonton's school board. When Edmonton was incorporated as a town in 1892, McCauley became mayor by acclamation and was re-elected in 1893 and 1894. In 1905, the year that Alberta became a province, he was elected to the first Provincial Legislature. McCauley resigned after a year to become the warden of Edmonton's first federal prison, working there from 1906 to 1911.