Ottawa River timber trade
Encyclopedia
The Ottawa River timber trade, also known as the Ottawa Valley timber trade or Ottawa River lumber trade, was the nineteenth century production of wood products by Canada
on areas of the Ottawa River
destined for British
and American
markets. It was the major industry of the historical colonies of Upper Canada
and Lower Canada
and it created an entrepreneur known as a lumber baron. The trade in squared timber and later sawed lumber
led to population growth and prosperity to communities in the Ottawa Valley
, especially the city of Bytown
(now Ottawa
, the capital of Canada). The product was chiefly red
and white pine
. The industry lasted until around 1900 as both markets and supplies decreased.
The industry came about following Napoleaon's 1806 Continental Blockade in Europe causing the United Kingdom
to require a new source for timber epecially for its navy and shipbuilding. Later the U.K.'s application of gradually increasing preferential tariffs increased Canadian imports. The first part of the industry, the trade in squared timber lasted until about the 1850s. The transportation for the raw timber was first by means of floating
down the Ottawa River, proved possible in 1806 by Philemon Wright
. Squared timber would be assembled into large rafts
which held living quarters for men on their six week journey to Quebec City
, which had large exporting facilities and easy access to the Atlantic Ocean
.
The second part of the industry involved the trade of sawed lumber, and the American lumber barons and lasted chiefly from about 1850 to 1900-1910. The Reciprocity Treaty caused a shift to American markets. The source of timber in Britain changed, where its access to timber in the Baltic region was restored, and it no longer provide the protective tariffs. Entrepreneurs in the United States at that time then began to build their operations near the Ottawa River, creating some of the world's largest sawmill
s at the time. These men, known as lumber barons, with names such as John Rudolphus Booth
and Henry Franklin Bronson
created mills which contributed to the prosperity and growth of Ottawa. The sawed lumber industry benefited from transportation improvements, first the Rideau Canal
linking Ottawa with Kingston, Ontario
on Lake Ontario
, and much later railways that began to be created between Canadian cities.
Shortly after 1900, the last raft went down the Ottawa River. Supplies of pine were dwindling and there was also a decreased demand. By this time, the United Kingdom was able to resume its supply from the Baltic Region and their policies especially the reduction in protectionism of their colonies led to a decrease in markets in the U.K. Shipbuilding turned towards steel. Before 1950 many operations began to discontinue, and later many mills were completely removed and the spoiled land began to be restored in Urban Renewal
policies in Ottawa. The industry had contributed greatly to population increases and economic growth of Ontario
and Quebec
.
and Lower Canada
's major industry in terms of employment and value of the product was the timber trade. The largest supplier of square red and white pine to the British market originated from the Ottawa River
and the Ottawa Valley
had "rich red
and white pine
forests" Bytown
(later called Ottawa
), was a major lumber and sawmill centre of Canada.
In 1806, Napoleon ordered a blockade to European ports, blocking Britain's access to timber required for the navy from the Baltic Sea
. The British naval shipyards were desperately in need of lumber.
British tariff concessions fostered the growth of the Canadian timber trade. The British government instituted the tariff on the importation of foreign timber in 1795 in need of alternate sources for its navy and to promote the industry in its North American colonies. The "Colonial Preference" was first 10 shillings per load, increasing to 25 in 1805 and after Napoleon's blockade ended, it was increased to 65 in 1814.
In 1821 the tariff was reduced to 55 shillings and was abolished in 1842. The United Kingdom resumed its trade in Baltic timber. The change in Britain's tariff preferences was a result of Britain moving to Free Trade in 1840. The 1840s saw a gradual move from protectionism in Great Britain
When the Ottawa River first began to be used for floating timber enroute to markets, squared timber was the preference by the British for resawing, and and it "became the main export". Britain imported 15,000 loads of timber from Canada in 1805, and from the colonies, 30,000 in 1807, and nearly 300,000 in 1820.
The reciprocity treaty of 1854 allowed for duty-free export of Ottawa Valley's lumber into the United States. Both the market was changing, as well as the entrepreneurs running the businesses.
An American September 30, 1869 statement showed that lumber was, by far Canada's biggest export to the U.S. Here are the top 3 (The definition of "Canada" for some reason, had Quebec in a separate category):
Also in 1869, about a third of the lumber manufactured at Ottawa was shipped to foreign countries, and the area employed 6000 men in cutting and rafting logs, about 5,500 in the preparation of squared timber for European markets, and about 5,000 at the mills in Ottawa.
Somewhere between 1848 and 1861, a large increase in the number of sawmills in "the town" had occurred:
Here is the production of some companies in 1873, M feet of lumber and number of employees and their 1875 address listed, where available.
The 1875 lumber merchants list had Jos Aumond, Batson & Carrier, Bennett, Benson & Co., H. B. D. Bruce, T. C. Brougham, T. W. Currier & Co., G. B. Hall, Hamilton & Bros., J. T. Lambert, Moses W. Linton, M. McDougall, John Moir, Isaac Moore, Robert Nagle, R. Ryan, Albert W. Soper, Wm. Stubbs and
Wm. Mackey, 99 Daly, Robert Skead, 288 Sparks, Hon. James Skead, 262 Wellington, William Skead, 10 Bell, Joseph Smith, 286 Sussex
and Lower Canada
's major industry in terms of employment and value of the product was the timber trade. Bytown
(later called Ottawa
), was a major lumber and sawmill centre of Canada. When the Ottawa River first began to be used for floating timber enroute to markets, squared timber was the preference. This required the logs to be skillfully shaped
with broadaxe
s giving the whole log a squared appearance. It was wasteful but squared pine was preferred by the British for resawing. The timber was bound with other sticks into two related configurations, cribs, and rafts. (See the following section for a detailed explanation.) Squared timber "became the main export" and was easy to ship overseas and could be moved by "pegged cribs". The rafts were floated on the Ottawa River to markets in Quebec.
In the early days the raftsmen were mostly French Canadian. The 1830s saw a large number of immigrants from Ireland other British Isles, and English speaking raftsmen began to appear. Competition for jobs led to animosity and hatred. Many Irish had come to Canada after the Rideau Canal
's construction to escape the poverty in Ireland. An unruly group called the Shiners
began to develop; jobless, alcohol-consuming and living in houses along the canal.
The first lumbering on the south side of the Ottawa River near Ottawa was by Braddish Billings, a former employee of Philemon Wright, with William M?? where they cut timber in Gloucester Township in 1810.
The industry began in Bytown with St. Louis, who in 1830 used the bywash (a section, that no longer exists, of the early Rideau Canal which drained into the Rideau River) near Cumberland and York. In 1831 he moved to Rideau Falls. Thomas McKay
acquired the mill in 1837.
In 1843, Philip Thompson and Daniel McLachlin
harnessed the Chaudière Falls
for use with grist and sawmills. In 1852, the Chaudière saw A.H. Baldwin, John Rudolphus Booth
, Henry Franklin Bronson
and Weston, J.J. Harris, Pattee and Perley, John Rochester, Levi Young. All were American except for Rochester. J.?. Turgeon operated a sawmill in the canal basin (another no longer existing area of the canal used for turning watercraft, just south of the bridge by the entrance).
Sometime in the 1850s the islands at the Chaudière Falls became occupied with the express intent of harvesting the enormous power of the falls. An auction on September 1, 1852 had lots on Victoria Island and Amelia island going to "Harris, Bronson and Co., and Perley and Pattee, both lumber operators in the Lake Champlain / Lake George area". Levi Young was on the mainland. "Harris and Bronson" mills had a capacity of 100,000 logs annually, more than twice that of nearby mills of Blasdell, Currier and Co., and Philip Thompson.
to Quebec, using timber rafting
. Sticks were trapped by a boom "at the mouth of the tributary" to be assembled into cribs, each crib consisting of 30 or more sticks of timber. Then the cribs, up to 100 of them, were joined together into a raft that served as the "riverman's home for the month-long journey downriver to Quebec. The crew lived in bunk houses right on the raft, and one fo the cribs contained the cookery.
There were two principal types of assemblages of logs, a dram and a crib. The crib was usually used on the Ottawa River wheres the dram was used on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence. A crib consisted of two layers of logs where were about twenty-four feet wide at most, as they were designed to get along the rapids at the Chaudière Falls and Des Chats
, whereas drams could be more than a hundred feet wide.
Rafts destined for Quebec have 2000 to 3000 pieces, almost all of them pine. The rafts are made up in cribs; each crib has 25 pieces.
Rafts were powered by oars, or occasionally sails. Rafts had to be dismantled and reassembled to get past rapids and obstructions. At Chaudière Falls 20 days could be lost in hauling the timber overland. Timber slides were an idea to solve that problem.
The first timber slide
on the Ottawa River was built on the North Side near the Chaudière Falls by Ruggles Wright
, son of Philemon following a visit to Scandinavia to learn of lumbering techniques there. The slide was 26 feet wide and was used to bypass the falls. Prior to this, bypassing the falls was a difficult task, and at times met with fatalities. His first slide was built in 1829 and during the next few years, other locations on the river began to employe them.
The trip to the timber shipping yards in Quebec, headquarters of many lumber exporting firms, often took as long as six weeks.
Pointer boat
is a boat commissioned by Booth to move white pine down the Ottawa River built by John Cockburn first in Ottawa who then moved to Pembroke, whose marina now holds its monument.
, the founder of Gatineau
, Quebec built the first timber raft, called Colombo, to go down the Ottawa River on June 11, 1806, taking 35 days to get to Montreal alone. It was manned by Philemon, his son Tiberius and two crewmen and they ended up at the Port of Quebec
. The raft had to broken up into cribs to clear the Long Sault Rapids (confusingly named, and now gone, but was near the historically significant Carillon Canal
). He had an employee, Nicholas Sparks, who owned a lot of the land of early Ottawa, whose name later became associated with Sparks Street
. The first timber slide
on the Ottawa River was built by Philemon's son, on the North Side near the Chaudière Falls by Ruggles Wright
, son of Philemon following a visit to Scandanavia to learn of lumbering techniques there.
(1817-1889), was an American who became one of the earliest major lumber barons, working on the Chaudière in the 1850s Bronson with his partner, John Harris in 1852 bought some land on Victoria Island, and the rights to use the water for industry. Harris and Bronson set up a large plant incorporating some modern features, which ushered in other entrepreneurs in an "American Invasion" to follow. Bronson had a son Erskine Henry Bronson
who later assumed control of the his father's business.
(1827-1925), another American became one of the largest lumber barons, and one of Canada's most successful entrepreneurs; he also worked at the Chaudière. He had once helped build Andrew Leamy's sawmill in Hull, and later began producing shingles near the Chaudière Falls in a rented sawmill. He later built his own sawmill, was the lumber supplier for the Parliament buildings
, and his name became widely known. With profits, he financed a large sawmill at the falls. In 1865, he was the location's third largest producer and twenty-five years later he had the highest daily output in the world.
(1820-1890) was a part, in 1852 on the Chaudière of Perley and Pattee, both Americans.. His partner, William Goodhue Perley
(1820-1890) had a son, George Halsey Perley
(1857-1938) who was also in the business. David Pattee
(1778-1851), although he seems to have in common the sawmills, and some connections to Ottawa, was probably not part of this firm.
Allan Gilmour, Sr.
(1775-1849) was part of a Scottish merchant family whose lumber interests began in Canada in New Brunswick, then Montreal and then Bytown in 1841. In 1840, after his Montreal boss retired, Allan and his cousin James from Scotland took over the lumber business He dealt in square timber, and built mills on the Gatineau River, the South Nation River east of Ottawa, the Blanche River near Pembroke, and a mill in Trenton, Ontario. The firm employeed over 1000 in the winter time. Their mills used more modern features in sawing and lifting, and turning logs over. Allan Gilmour was associated with the firm Pollok, Gilmour and Company
.
Thomas McKay
(1792-1855), sometimes considered as one of the founding fathers of Ottawa for his work in building, as well as politics, built a sawmill at New Edinburgh
. He was also known for building Rideau Hall
, locks of the Rideau Canal
, and the Bytown Museum
. McKay also was on the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
.
James Maclaren
(1818-1892) who once established industry Wakefield, Quebec
, in 1853, he leased a sawmill in New Edinburgh
from Thomas McKay
with partners and in 1861, he bought out his partners and, in 1866, he purchased the mills after McKay's death. In 1864, again with partners, he bought sawmills at Buckingham, Quebec
, later buying out his partners.
Other import names include James Skead
(1817-1844), John Rochester
(1822-1894), Daniel McLachlin
(1810-1872) and John Egan
(1811-1857).
A few perhaps less famous people in the industry, but have made contributions in other areas, mostly politics, are William Borthwick
(1848-1928) and James Davidson
(1856-1913), William Stewart (1803-1856), William Hamilton
, George Hamilton
(1781-1839).
The industry contributed to the population growth in Ontario
and Quebec
both indirectly, as a result of its economic boost, as well as directly, when ships from Quebec City went to ports such as Liverpool
and returned with hopeful immigrants, providing cheap transportation. It also stimulated economic growth in both provinces, and J.R. Booth contributed greatly to the construction of the Canada Atlantic Railway
.
There also was an environmental impact. The huge industrial operations at LeBreton Flats
and the Chaudiere Falls
caused pollution and damage to the lands. The beauty of the Chaudiere Falls had been completely changed by industry. The National Capital Commission
removed a lot of the industrial structures in Ottawa and Hull in the 1960's. LeBreton, for various reasons, remained unoccupied for decades.
and the Chaudière Falls
were the locations of some of Canada's largest lumber mills, including those of Booth and Bronson. All of that is now gone now as part of the Greber Plan
's efforts at beautifying the capital of Canada.
Bronson Avenue
was named after the lumber baron. The Bank of Ottawa
was founded due to the industry. The ByWard Market
came about as part of Lower Town
to serve the needs of Bytown
's lumbery population. Booth House still exists.
Ottawa Central Railway
still carries lumber as one of its major commodities.
Hog's Back Falls
were as John MacTaggart, in 1827, described them as “a noted ridge of rocks, called the Hog’s Back, from the circumstances of raftsmen with their wares [timber rafts] sticking on it in coming down the stream.”
List of designated heritage properties in Ottawa lists the Carkner Lumber Mill in Osgoode, Watson's Mill
in Rideau-Goldbourne.
is a large swath of land, much of it along the Ottawa River. Renfrew, Ontario
is often associated with the name. The Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben
is a geologically related area.
Upper Canada
was a name given to areas in present day Ontario in the 18th and 19th centuries, until 1840 or 1841, when the Province of Canada
formed. In 1867, this also no longer existed with the Confederation of Canada when Ontario and Quebec became officially named, and became two of the four provinces of Canada.
Eastern Ontario
's Irish Catholics mainly from Cork along with the Franco-Ontarians made up the majority of Rideau Canal builders and were heavily employed in the area's extensive lumber industry.
Gatineau
was once named Wrightsville or Wrightstown during Philemon Wright's lumbering days. It later became Hull, Quebec
.
Buckingham, Quebec
contained the mills of the J. MacLaren & Co. by James Maclaren
.
Fassett, Quebec
along with Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours, Quebec
became of interest economically for its oaks, pines, and maples, during the Napoleonic blockade. Its large oaks are of "high quality and particularly of large size, suitable for the construction of vessels."
Areas affected by the lumber industry on the Ottawa River include Arnprior
, Hawkesbury, Ontario
, Stittsville, Ontario
, North Gower, Ontario
, Kemptville, Ontario
, Carleton Place, Ontario
, Pembroke, Ontario
, and Lachute.
Highlands East, Ontario
Gooderham (not on the Ottawa River) southwest of Ottawa still has an active mill.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on areas of the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
destined for British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
markets. It was the major industry of the historical colonies of Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
and Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
and it created an entrepreneur known as a lumber baron. The trade in squared timber and later sawed lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
led to population growth and prosperity to communities in the Ottawa Valley
Ottawa Valley
The Ottawa Valley is the valley along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec along the Ottawa River. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield...
, especially the city of Bytown
Bytown
Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Canada's capital city. It was founded on on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a sod turning, and a letter from Governor General...
(now Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, the capital of Canada). The product was chiefly red
Red Pine
Pinus resinosa, commonly known as the red pine or Norway pine, is pine native to North America. The Red Pine occurs from Newfoundland west to Manitoba, and south to Pennsylvania, with several smaller, disjunct populations occurring in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and West Virginia, as well...
and white pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
. The industry lasted until around 1900 as both markets and supplies decreased.
The industry came about following Napoleaon's 1806 Continental Blockade in Europe causing the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to require a new source for timber epecially for its navy and shipbuilding. Later the U.K.'s application of gradually increasing preferential tariffs increased Canadian imports. The first part of the industry, the trade in squared timber lasted until about the 1850s. The transportation for the raw timber was first by means of floating
Timber floating
Timber floating may refer to:*Log driving*Timber rafting...
down the Ottawa River, proved possible in 1806 by Philemon Wright
Philemon Wright
Philemon Wright was a farmer and entrepreneur who founded Wrightstown, the first permanent settlement in the National Capital Region of Canada...
. Squared timber would be assembled into large rafts
Timber rafting
Timber rafting is a log transportation method in which logs are tied together into rafts and drifted or pulled across a water body or down a flatter river. It is arguably the second cheapest method of transportation of timber, next after log driving...
which held living quarters for men on their six week journey to Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, which had large exporting facilities and easy access to the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
The second part of the industry involved the trade of sawed lumber, and the American lumber barons and lasted chiefly from about 1850 to 1900-1910. The Reciprocity Treaty caused a shift to American markets. The source of timber in Britain changed, where its access to timber in the Baltic region was restored, and it no longer provide the protective tariffs. Entrepreneurs in the United States at that time then began to build their operations near the Ottawa River, creating some of the world's largest sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s at the time. These men, known as lumber barons, with names such as John Rudolphus Booth
John Rudolphus Booth
John Rudolphus Booth was a Canadian lumber and railway baron. He controlled logging rights for large tracts of forest land in central Ontario, and built a railway to extract his logs; and from Ottawa through to Vermont to export lumber and grain to the United States and...
and Henry Franklin Bronson
Henry Franklin Bronson
Henry Franklin Bronson was a Canadian lumber baron known as one of Ottawa's early entrepreneurs establishing a large lumber mill at Chaudière Falls on the Ottawa River...
created mills which contributed to the prosperity and growth of Ottawa. The sawed lumber industry benefited from transportation improvements, first the Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
linking Ottawa with Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
on Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
, and much later railways that began to be created between Canadian cities.
Shortly after 1900, the last raft went down the Ottawa River. Supplies of pine were dwindling and there was also a decreased demand. By this time, the United Kingdom was able to resume its supply from the Baltic Region and their policies especially the reduction in protectionism of their colonies led to a decrease in markets in the U.K. Shipbuilding turned towards steel. Before 1950 many operations began to discontinue, and later many mills were completely removed and the spoiled land began to be restored in Urban Renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
policies in Ottawa. The industry had contributed greatly to population increases and economic growth of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
.
Markets
UpperUpper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
and Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
's major industry in terms of employment and value of the product was the timber trade. The largest supplier of square red and white pine to the British market originated from the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
and the Ottawa Valley
Ottawa Valley
The Ottawa Valley is the valley along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec along the Ottawa River. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield...
had "rich red
Red Pine
Pinus resinosa, commonly known as the red pine or Norway pine, is pine native to North America. The Red Pine occurs from Newfoundland west to Manitoba, and south to Pennsylvania, with several smaller, disjunct populations occurring in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and West Virginia, as well...
and white pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
forests" Bytown
Bytown
Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Canada's capital city. It was founded on on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a sod turning, and a letter from Governor General...
(later called Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
), was a major lumber and sawmill centre of Canada.
In 1806, Napoleon ordered a blockade to European ports, blocking Britain's access to timber required for the navy from the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. The British naval shipyards were desperately in need of lumber.
British tariff concessions fostered the growth of the Canadian timber trade. The British government instituted the tariff on the importation of foreign timber in 1795 in need of alternate sources for its navy and to promote the industry in its North American colonies. The "Colonial Preference" was first 10 shillings per load, increasing to 25 in 1805 and after Napoleon's blockade ended, it was increased to 65 in 1814.
In 1821 the tariff was reduced to 55 shillings and was abolished in 1842. The United Kingdom resumed its trade in Baltic timber. The change in Britain's tariff preferences was a result of Britain moving to Free Trade in 1840. The 1840s saw a gradual move from protectionism in Great Britain
When the Ottawa River first began to be used for floating timber enroute to markets, squared timber was the preference by the British for resawing, and and it "became the main export". Britain imported 15,000 loads of timber from Canada in 1805, and from the colonies, 30,000 in 1807, and nearly 300,000 in 1820.
The reciprocity treaty of 1854 allowed for duty-free export of Ottawa Valley's lumber into the United States. Both the market was changing, as well as the entrepreneurs running the businesses.
An American September 30, 1869 statement showed that lumber was, by far Canada's biggest export to the U.S. Here are the top 3 (The definition of "Canada" for some reason, had Quebec in a separate category):
- lumber: 424,232,087 feet, $4,761,357.
- iron,pig: 26,881 do, $536,662
- sheep: 228,914, $524,639
Also in 1869, about a third of the lumber manufactured at Ottawa was shipped to foreign countries, and the area employed 6000 men in cutting and rafting logs, about 5,500 in the preparation of squared timber for European markets, and about 5,000 at the mills in Ottawa.
Somewhere between 1848 and 1861, a large increase in the number of sawmills in "the town" had occurred:
- 1845: 601 houses and 3 saw mills
- 1848: 1019 houses and 2 saw mills
- 1861: 2104 dwellings and 12 saw mills
Here is the production of some companies in 1873, M feet of lumber and number of employees and their 1875 address listed, where available.
- J.R. Booth, 40, 400, Albert Island, Chaudier
- Bronsons & Weston [Lumber Company], 40, 400, Victoria Island (incorrectly listed as Bronson & Weston)
- Gilmour & Co. 40, 500-1000, 22 Bank (numbers were listed with Gilmore & Co.)
- E.B. Eddy, 40, 1700 (this includes mostly non-lumber activities)
- Perley & Pattee, 30, 275, 105 Chaudiere
- A.H. Baldwin, 25, 200, Victoria Island
- J. Maclaren & Co., 20, 150, 6 Sussex (address listed as J. MacLaren & Co.)
- Wright, Batson & Currier 17, 250 (only listing for address was Batson & Carrier)
- Levi Young, 16, 100, Victoria Island Chaudiere (Numbers listed him as Capt. Young's mill.)
- Total here: 228 million feet(sic).
The 1875 lumber merchants list had Jos Aumond, Batson & Carrier, Bennett, Benson & Co., H. B. D. Bruce, T. C. Brougham, T. W. Currier & Co., G. B. Hall, Hamilton & Bros., J. T. Lambert, Moses W. Linton, M. McDougall, John Moir, Isaac Moore, Robert Nagle, R. Ryan, Albert W. Soper, Wm. Stubbs and
Wm. Mackey, 99 Daly, Robert Skead, 288 Sparks, Hon. James Skead, 262 Wellington, William Skead, 10 Bell, Joseph Smith, 286 Sussex
Timber Trade
UpperUpper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
and Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
's major industry in terms of employment and value of the product was the timber trade. Bytown
Bytown
Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Canada's capital city. It was founded on on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a sod turning, and a letter from Governor General...
(later called Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
), was a major lumber and sawmill centre of Canada. When the Ottawa River first began to be used for floating timber enroute to markets, squared timber was the preference. This required the logs to be skillfully shaped
Hewing
Hewing is the process of converting sections of a tree stem from its rounded natural form into a form with more or less flat surfaces using primarily, among other tools, an axe or axes...
with broadaxe
Broadaxe
A broadaxe is a large-headed axe. There were two types of broadaxes both used for shaping logs by hand hewing. On one type, one side is flat and the other side beveled, a basilled edge, this is a hewing broadaxe...
s giving the whole log a squared appearance. It was wasteful but squared pine was preferred by the British for resawing. The timber was bound with other sticks into two related configurations, cribs, and rafts. (See the following section for a detailed explanation.) Squared timber "became the main export" and was easy to ship overseas and could be moved by "pegged cribs". The rafts were floated on the Ottawa River to markets in Quebec.
In the early days the raftsmen were mostly French Canadian. The 1830s saw a large number of immigrants from Ireland other British Isles, and English speaking raftsmen began to appear. Competition for jobs led to animosity and hatred. Many Irish had come to Canada after the Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
's construction to escape the poverty in Ireland. An unruly group called the Shiners
Shiner (Ottawa)
Shiners were gangs of Irish immigrants that formed in the early days of Bytown, later Ottawa, mainly active during the 1830s.After the completion of the Rideau Canal in 1832, many Irish workers were left unemployed...
began to develop; jobless, alcohol-consuming and living in houses along the canal.
Sawmills
The industry began in Bytown with St. Louis, who in 1830 used the bywash (a section, that no longer exists, of the early Rideau Canal which drained into the Rideau River) near Cumberland and York. In 1831 he moved to Rideau Falls. Thomas McKay
Thomas McKay
Thomas McKay was a Canadian businessman who was one of the founders of the city of Ottawa, Ontario. He was born in Perth, Scotland and became a skilled stonemason...
acquired the mill in 1837.
In 1843, Philip Thompson and Daniel McLachlin
Daniel McLachlin
Daniel McLachlin was a businessman and political figure in Canada West. He represented Renfrew South in the 1st Canadian Parliament as a Liberal from 1867 to 1869....
harnessed the Chaudière Falls
Chaudière Falls
The Chaudière Falls are a set of cascades and waterfall in the centre of the Ottawa-Gatineau metropolitan area in Canada where the Ottawa River narrows between a rocky escarpment on both sides of the river. The location is just west of the Chaudière Bridge, northwest of the Canadian War Museum at...
for use with grist and sawmills. In 1852, the Chaudière saw A.H. Baldwin, John Rudolphus Booth
John Rudolphus Booth
John Rudolphus Booth was a Canadian lumber and railway baron. He controlled logging rights for large tracts of forest land in central Ontario, and built a railway to extract his logs; and from Ottawa through to Vermont to export lumber and grain to the United States and...
, Henry Franklin Bronson
Henry Franklin Bronson
Henry Franklin Bronson was a Canadian lumber baron known as one of Ottawa's early entrepreneurs establishing a large lumber mill at Chaudière Falls on the Ottawa River...
and Weston, J.J. Harris, Pattee and Perley, John Rochester, Levi Young. All were American except for Rochester. J.?. Turgeon operated a sawmill in the canal basin (another no longer existing area of the canal used for turning watercraft, just south of the bridge by the entrance).
Sometime in the 1850s the islands at the Chaudière Falls became occupied with the express intent of harvesting the enormous power of the falls. An auction on September 1, 1852 had lots on Victoria Island and Amelia island going to "Harris, Bronson and Co., and Perley and Pattee, both lumber operators in the Lake Champlain / Lake George area". Levi Young was on the mainland. "Harris and Bronson" mills had a capacity of 100,000 logs annually, more than twice that of nearby mills of Blasdell, Currier and Co., and Philip Thompson.
Timber slides, cribs, rafts
The Ottawa River was the means of transporting logsLog driving
Log driving is a means of log transport which makes use of a river's current to move floating tree trunks downstream to sawmills and pulp mills.It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America...
to Quebec, using timber rafting
Timber rafting
Timber rafting is a log transportation method in which logs are tied together into rafts and drifted or pulled across a water body or down a flatter river. It is arguably the second cheapest method of transportation of timber, next after log driving...
. Sticks were trapped by a boom "at the mouth of the tributary" to be assembled into cribs, each crib consisting of 30 or more sticks of timber. Then the cribs, up to 100 of them, were joined together into a raft that served as the "riverman's home for the month-long journey downriver to Quebec. The crew lived in bunk houses right on the raft, and one fo the cribs contained the cookery.
There were two principal types of assemblages of logs, a dram and a crib. The crib was usually used on the Ottawa River wheres the dram was used on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence. A crib consisted of two layers of logs where were about twenty-four feet wide at most, as they were designed to get along the rapids at the Chaudière Falls and Des Chats
Chats Falls
Chats Falls were a set of waterfalls on the Ottawa River, near Fitzroy Harbour, Ontario, and Quyon, Quebec, Canada. A hydroelectric generating station is now located here, owned and operated jointly by Hydro-Québec and Ontario Power Generation...
, whereas drams could be more than a hundred feet wide.
Rafts destined for Quebec have 2000 to 3000 pieces, almost all of them pine. The rafts are made up in cribs; each crib has 25 pieces.
Rafts were powered by oars, or occasionally sails. Rafts had to be dismantled and reassembled to get past rapids and obstructions. At Chaudière Falls 20 days could be lost in hauling the timber overland. Timber slides were an idea to solve that problem.
The first timber slide
Timber slide
A timber slide is a device for moving timber past rapids and waterfalls. Their use in Canada was widespread in the 18th and 19th century timber trade. At this time, cut timber would be floated down rivers in large timber rafts from logging camps to ports such as Montreal and Saint John, New...
on the Ottawa River was built on the North Side near the Chaudière Falls by Ruggles Wright
Ruggles Wright
Ruggles Wright was a Canadian lumber merchant, the youngest son of Philemon Wright.He was born in Woburn, Massachusetts but moved to Canada with his parents while still young. He later joined the family business in the timber trade. In 1829, he built the first timber slide on the Ottawa River to...
, son of Philemon following a visit to Scandinavia to learn of lumbering techniques there. The slide was 26 feet wide and was used to bypass the falls. Prior to this, bypassing the falls was a difficult task, and at times met with fatalities. His first slide was built in 1829 and during the next few years, other locations on the river began to employe them.
The trip to the timber shipping yards in Quebec, headquarters of many lumber exporting firms, often took as long as six weeks.
Pointer boat
Pointer boat
Pointer boats were designed by John Cockburn and built by John, his son and grandson, from the 1850’s to 1969. This historical boat was used in logging and had a very influential impact on the industry. The boat was the “workhorse” of the Canadian river system and was famous for being able to...
is a boat commissioned by Booth to move white pine down the Ottawa River built by John Cockburn first in Ottawa who then moved to Pembroke, whose marina now holds its monument.
Philemon Wright
Philemon WrightPhilemon Wright
Philemon Wright was a farmer and entrepreneur who founded Wrightstown, the first permanent settlement in the National Capital Region of Canada...
, the founder of Gatineau
Gatineau
Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...
, Quebec built the first timber raft, called Colombo, to go down the Ottawa River on June 11, 1806, taking 35 days to get to Montreal alone. It was manned by Philemon, his son Tiberius and two crewmen and they ended up at the Port of Quebec
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
. The raft had to broken up into cribs to clear the Long Sault Rapids (confusingly named, and now gone, but was near the historically significant Carillon Canal
Carillon Canal
The Carillon Canal is a National Historic Site in Saint-André-d'Argenteuil, Quebec, Canada. It preserves the historic Carillon Canal that was first built in the 1830s to facilitate travel on the Ottawa River...
). He had an employee, Nicholas Sparks, who owned a lot of the land of early Ottawa, whose name later became associated with Sparks Street
Sparks Street
Sparks Street is a street in downtown Ottawa, Canada that was converted into an outdoor pedestrian street in 1966, making it the earliest such street or mall in North America....
. The first timber slide
Timber slide
A timber slide is a device for moving timber past rapids and waterfalls. Their use in Canada was widespread in the 18th and 19th century timber trade. At this time, cut timber would be floated down rivers in large timber rafts from logging camps to ports such as Montreal and Saint John, New...
on the Ottawa River was built by Philemon's son, on the North Side near the Chaudière Falls by Ruggles Wright
Ruggles Wright
Ruggles Wright was a Canadian lumber merchant, the youngest son of Philemon Wright.He was born in Woburn, Massachusetts but moved to Canada with his parents while still young. He later joined the family business in the timber trade. In 1829, he built the first timber slide on the Ottawa River to...
, son of Philemon following a visit to Scandanavia to learn of lumbering techniques there.
Henry Franklin Bronson
Henry Franklin BronsonHenry Franklin Bronson
Henry Franklin Bronson was a Canadian lumber baron known as one of Ottawa's early entrepreneurs establishing a large lumber mill at Chaudière Falls on the Ottawa River...
(1817-1889), was an American who became one of the earliest major lumber barons, working on the Chaudière in the 1850s Bronson with his partner, John Harris in 1852 bought some land on Victoria Island, and the rights to use the water for industry. Harris and Bronson set up a large plant incorporating some modern features, which ushered in other entrepreneurs in an "American Invasion" to follow. Bronson had a son Erskine Henry Bronson
Erskine Henry Bronson
Erskine Henry Bronson was an American-born Canadian businessman and political figure. He represented the City of Ottawa in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1886 to 1898....
who later assumed control of the his father's business.
John Rudolphus Booth
John Rudolphus BoothJohn Rudolphus Booth
John Rudolphus Booth was a Canadian lumber and railway baron. He controlled logging rights for large tracts of forest land in central Ontario, and built a railway to extract his logs; and from Ottawa through to Vermont to export lumber and grain to the United States and...
(1827-1925), another American became one of the largest lumber barons, and one of Canada's most successful entrepreneurs; he also worked at the Chaudière. He had once helped build Andrew Leamy's sawmill in Hull, and later began producing shingles near the Chaudière Falls in a rented sawmill. He later built his own sawmill, was the lumber supplier for the Parliament buildings
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...
, and his name became widely known. With profits, he financed a large sawmill at the falls. In 1865, he was the location's third largest producer and twenty-five years later he had the highest daily output in the world.
Perley and Pattee
William Goodhue PerleyWilliam Goodhue Perley
William Goodhue Perley was a businessman and member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1887 to 1890.He was born in Enfield, New Hampshire in 1820. His emigrant ancestor was Allan Perley. During the 1840s, he established a lumber business based on timber from northern New York...
(1820-1890) was a part, in 1852 on the Chaudière of Perley and Pattee, both Americans.. His partner, William Goodhue Perley
William Goodhue Perley
William Goodhue Perley was a businessman and member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1887 to 1890.He was born in Enfield, New Hampshire in 1820. His emigrant ancestor was Allan Perley. During the 1840s, he established a lumber business based on timber from northern New York...
(1820-1890) had a son, George Halsey Perley
George Halsey Perley
Sir George Halsey Perley, KCMG, PC was an American born Canadian politician and diplomat.-Early life:...
(1857-1938) who was also in the business. David Pattee
David Pattee
David Pattee was a businessman, judge and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Goffstown, New Hampshire in 1778. He studied medicine but never practiced. In 1803, he left New Hampshire for the lower Ottawa River in Upper Canada because he was in debt and accused of forgery...
(1778-1851), although he seems to have in common the sawmills, and some connections to Ottawa, was probably not part of this firm.
Other lumber companies and people
There were several companies and individuals who created some timber operations, before the huge American influx. There were two waves of American lumberers. In 1853, Baldwin, Bronson, Harris, and Young began to erect lumber mills, and from 1856 to 1860, Perley, Pattee, Booth and Eddy followed.Allan Gilmour, Sr.
Allan Gilmour, Sr.
Allan Gilmour, Sr was a prominent Scottish-born lumber merchant and shipowner.Born in 1775, Allan Gilmour, Sr. was the son of Allan Gilmour and Elizabeth Pollok. Initially dealing in the Baltic timber trade, he co-founded the Glasgow-based firm Pollok, Gilmour and Company, together with the...
(1775-1849) was part of a Scottish merchant family whose lumber interests began in Canada in New Brunswick, then Montreal and then Bytown in 1841. In 1840, after his Montreal boss retired, Allan and his cousin James from Scotland took over the lumber business He dealt in square timber, and built mills on the Gatineau River, the South Nation River east of Ottawa, the Blanche River near Pembroke, and a mill in Trenton, Ontario. The firm employeed over 1000 in the winter time. Their mills used more modern features in sawing and lifting, and turning logs over. Allan Gilmour was associated with the firm Pollok, Gilmour and Company
Pollok, Gilmour and Company
Pollok, Gilmour, and Company was a Glasgow-based timber-importing firm established in 1804 by Allan Gilmour, Sr and the brothers John Pollok and Arthur Pollok. The company soon became the leading British firm in the North American timber trade, chiefly through its Miramichi, New Brunswick operations...
.
Thomas McKay
Thomas McKay
Thomas McKay was a Canadian businessman who was one of the founders of the city of Ottawa, Ontario. He was born in Perth, Scotland and became a skilled stonemason...
(1792-1855), sometimes considered as one of the founding fathers of Ottawa for his work in building, as well as politics, built a sawmill at New Edinburgh
New Edinburgh
New Edinburgh is a small neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada. It is located to the east of the downtown core. It is bordered on the west by the Rideau River, to the north by the Ottawa River, to the south by Beechwood Avenue, to the east the border is less regular but is marked in part by Springfield...
. He was also known for building Rideau Hall
Rideau Hall
Rideau Hall is, since 1867, the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and the Governor General of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a 0.36 km2 estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main building consisting of 170 rooms across 9,500 m2 , and 24 outbuildings around the...
, locks of the Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
, and the Bytown Museum
Bytown Museum
The Bytown Museum is a small museum in Ottawa located on the lower locks of the Rideau Canal at the Ottawa River just below Parliament Hill.The museum's exhibits follow the early history of the city, originally known as Bytown, and the construction of the Rideau Canal...
. McKay also was on the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the province of Ontario...
.
James Maclaren
James Maclaren
James MacLaren was an early settler and entrepreneur in western Quebec.He was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1818. He came to Richmond in Upper Canada with his family in 1822. The family then settled in Torobolton Township and then moved to Wakefield in Lower Canada in the 1840s...
(1818-1892) who once established industry Wakefield, Quebec
Wakefield, Quebec
Wakefield is a village on the western shore of the Gatineau River, at the confluence of the La Pêche River in the Outaouais region of Quebec. The village, named after the town of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, is now the southern edge of the municipality of La Pêche, and was founded in 1830...
, in 1853, he leased a sawmill in New Edinburgh
New Edinburgh
New Edinburgh is a small neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada. It is located to the east of the downtown core. It is bordered on the west by the Rideau River, to the north by the Ottawa River, to the south by Beechwood Avenue, to the east the border is less regular but is marked in part by Springfield...
from Thomas McKay
Thomas McKay
Thomas McKay was a Canadian businessman who was one of the founders of the city of Ottawa, Ontario. He was born in Perth, Scotland and became a skilled stonemason...
with partners and in 1861, he bought out his partners and, in 1866, he purchased the mills after McKay's death. In 1864, again with partners, he bought sawmills at Buckingham, Quebec
Buckingham, Quebec
Buckingham was a city located in the Outaouais region of the province of Quebec. Since January 1, 2002, it has been part of the amalgamated city of Gatineau which merged five former municipalities, including Masson-Angers, Buckingham, Hull, Aylmer and Gatineau, into a single entity...
, later buying out his partners.
Other import names include James Skead
James Skead
James Skead was an Ontario businessman and politician. He was a Conservative member of the Senate of Canada for Rideau division from 1867 to 1881 and from 1881 until his death in 1884.-Biography:...
(1817-1844), John Rochester
John Rochester (politician)
John Rochester was a Canadian industrialist, mayor of Ottawa, Ontario from 1870 to 1871, and a member of the Canadian House of Commons representing Carleton from 1872 to 1882....
(1822-1894), Daniel McLachlin
Daniel McLachlin
Daniel McLachlin was a businessman and political figure in Canada West. He represented Renfrew South in the 1st Canadian Parliament as a Liberal from 1867 to 1869....
(1810-1872) and John Egan
John Egan (Canadian politician)
John Egan was an Irish-Canadian businessman and political figure in the Ottawa region.He was born near Aughrim, Ireland, in 1811. He came to Aylmer, Lower Canada, Canada, in 1830. After working with a lumber company on the upper Ottawa River, he entered the business himself near Bytown...
(1811-1857).
A few perhaps less famous people in the industry, but have made contributions in other areas, mostly politics, are William Borthwick
William Borthwick
William Borthwick was mayor of Ottawa from 1895 to 1896.He was born near Mer Bleue in Gloucester Township in 1848. He went to California in 1868 and worked in the timber trade there. He returned to Ottawa in 1872 and opened a grocery store...
(1848-1928) and James Davidson
James Davidson (Canadian politician)
James Davidson was mayor of Ottawa, Canada in 1901.He was born in Ottawa in 1856. With his brothers, he worked in the timber trade and manufactured doors. He served as alderman from 1898 to 1907; he became mayor when W.D. Morris was forced to resign...
(1856-1913), William Stewart (1803-1856), William Hamilton
William Hamilton (lumber baron)
William Hamilton was a lumber merchant and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Ireland and came to Quebec City with his brother George sometime before 1807. They were originally in the business of importing goods but later became involved in the timber trade...
, George Hamilton
George Hamilton (lumber baron)
George Hamilton was a lumber baron and public official in Upper Canada.Hamilton was born at Hamwood House, in County Meath, Republic of Ireland in 1781 and came to Quebec City sometime before 1807. He was a descendant of the Hamiltons of Killyleagh Castle, Co...
(1781-1839).
Legacy
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
both indirectly, as a result of its economic boost, as well as directly, when ships from Quebec City went to ports such as Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and returned with hopeful immigrants, providing cheap transportation. It also stimulated economic growth in both provinces, and J.R. Booth contributed greatly to the construction of the Canada Atlantic Railway
Canada Atlantic Railway
The Canada Atlantic Railway Company , the creation of lumber baron John Rudolphus Booth, was for a short period an important participant in the development of trans-Canada railway systems at the end of the 19th century...
.
There also was an environmental impact. The huge industrial operations at LeBreton Flats
Lebreton Flats
LeBreton Flats is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada. It lies to the west of Centretown neighbourhood, and to the north of Centretown West with "Nanny Goat Hill" as the dividing line...
and the Chaudiere Falls
Chaudière Falls
The Chaudière Falls are a set of cascades and waterfall in the centre of the Ottawa-Gatineau metropolitan area in Canada where the Ottawa River narrows between a rocky escarpment on both sides of the river. The location is just west of the Chaudière Bridge, northwest of the Canadian War Museum at...
caused pollution and damage to the lands. The beauty of the Chaudiere Falls had been completely changed by industry. The National Capital Commission
National Capital Commission
The National Capital Commission , is a Canadian Crown corporation that administers the federally owned lands and buildings in Canada's National Capital Region, including Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec.The NCC was created in 1959, replacing the Federal District Commission , which had been...
removed a lot of the industrial structures in Ottawa and Hull in the 1960's. LeBreton, for various reasons, remained unoccupied for decades.
Places Within City of Ottawa
LeBreton FlatsLebreton Flats
LeBreton Flats is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada. It lies to the west of Centretown neighbourhood, and to the north of Centretown West with "Nanny Goat Hill" as the dividing line...
and the Chaudière Falls
Chaudière Falls
The Chaudière Falls are a set of cascades and waterfall in the centre of the Ottawa-Gatineau metropolitan area in Canada where the Ottawa River narrows between a rocky escarpment on both sides of the river. The location is just west of the Chaudière Bridge, northwest of the Canadian War Museum at...
were the locations of some of Canada's largest lumber mills, including those of Booth and Bronson. All of that is now gone now as part of the Greber Plan
Greber Plan
The Greber Plan, or General Report on the Plan for the National Capital , was an urban plan developed in 1950 by Jacques Gréber for the Federal District Commission of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.Its main components were:...
's efforts at beautifying the capital of Canada.
Bronson Avenue
Bronson Avenue (Ottawa)
Bronson Avenue is a major north-south arterial road in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs from downtown at Sparks Street in the north through Centretown, past the Glebe and Carleton University and turns into the Airport Parkway, which is an expressway to the Macdonald-Cartier International...
was named after the lumber baron. The Bank of Ottawa
Bank of Ottawa
The Bank of Ottawa was established in Canada in 1874 by Ottawa Valley lumber pioneers. The Bank of Ottawa was of high importance in the city's banking scene for a number of years. James Maclaren presided over the Bank from 1874 until his death in 1892. James Mather served as a bank director from 1879...
was founded due to the industry. The ByWard Market
Byward Market
ByWard Market is a district in Lower Town located east of the government & business district, surrounding the market buildings and open-air market on George, York, ByWard and William Streets.The district is bordered on the west by Sussex Drive, on the...
came about as part of Lower Town
Lower Town
Lowertown is a district in the central area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to the east of downtown. It is bounded roughly by Rideau Street to the south, Sussex Drive and Ottawa River to the north, the Rideau Canal to the west, and the Rideau River to the east...
to serve the needs of Bytown
Bytown
Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Canada's capital city. It was founded on on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a sod turning, and a letter from Governor General...
's lumbery population. Booth House still exists.
Ottawa Central Railway
Ottawa Central Railway
The Ottawa Central Railway is a Canadian shortline railway subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway. The headquarters are at the Walkley Yard, 3141 Albion Road South, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada....
still carries lumber as one of its major commodities.
Hog's Back Falls
Hog's Back Falls
The Hog's Back Falls, officially known as the Prince of Wales Falls, but rarely referred to by this name, are a series of artificially-created waterfalls on the Rideau River in Ottawa, Canada...
were as John MacTaggart, in 1827, described them as “a noted ridge of rocks, called the Hog’s Back, from the circumstances of raftsmen with their wares [timber rafts] sticking on it in coming down the stream.”
List of designated heritage properties in Ottawa lists the Carkner Lumber Mill in Osgoode, Watson's Mill
Watson's Mill
Watson's Mill is a historic gristmill in Manotick, Ontario, Canada. It was built as the Long Island Flouring Mills by Moss Kent Dickinson and Joseph Merrill Currier. It was one of a series of mills constructed in the area using power from the Rideau Canal. It earned its current name when it was...
in Rideau-Goldbourne.
Places Outside City of Ottawa
The Ottawa ValleyOttawa Valley
The Ottawa Valley is the valley along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec along the Ottawa River. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield...
is a large swath of land, much of it along the Ottawa River. Renfrew, Ontario
Renfrew, Ontario
Renfrew, Ontario, Canada, is a town on the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County. Located one hour west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario, Renfrew is the third largest town in the county after Petawawa and Pembroke. The town is a small transportation hub connecting Ontario Highway 60 and Highway 132 with...
is often associated with the name. The Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben
Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben
The Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben , with its branch the Timiskaming Graben, is an ancient rift valley in the Canadian Shield of Northeastern Ontario and Quebec, Canada. This rift valley was formed when the Earth's crust moved downward about a kilometre between two major fault zones known as the Mattawa...
is a geologically related area.
Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
was a name given to areas in present day Ontario in the 18th and 19th centuries, until 1840 or 1841, when the Province of Canada
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of...
formed. In 1867, this also no longer existed with the Confederation of Canada when Ontario and Quebec became officially named, and became two of the four provinces of Canada.
Eastern Ontario
Eastern Ontario
Eastern Ontario is a subregion of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies in a wedge-shaped area between the Ottawa River and St. Lawrence River...
's Irish Catholics mainly from Cork along with the Franco-Ontarians made up the majority of Rideau Canal builders and were heavily employed in the area's extensive lumber industry.
Gatineau
Gatineau
Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...
was once named Wrightsville or Wrightstown during Philemon Wright's lumbering days. It later became Hull, Quebec
Hull, Quebec
Hull is the central and oldest part of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadian National Capital Region, it contains offices for twenty thousand...
.
Buckingham, Quebec
Buckingham, Quebec
Buckingham was a city located in the Outaouais region of the province of Quebec. Since January 1, 2002, it has been part of the amalgamated city of Gatineau which merged five former municipalities, including Masson-Angers, Buckingham, Hull, Aylmer and Gatineau, into a single entity...
contained the mills of the J. MacLaren & Co. by James Maclaren
James Maclaren
James MacLaren was an early settler and entrepreneur in western Quebec.He was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1818. He came to Richmond in Upper Canada with his family in 1822. The family then settled in Torobolton Township and then moved to Wakefield in Lower Canada in the 1840s...
.
Fassett, Quebec
Fassett, Quebec
Fassett is a municipality and village in the Papineau Regional County Municipality in Quebec, Canada, located on the north shore of the Ottawa River east of Montebello.Its main access road is Route 148...
along with Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours, Quebec
Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours, Quebec
Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours is a municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. It is located along the Ottawa River, about east of Gatineau. It is the least populated municipality in the Papineau Regional County Municipality....
became of interest economically for its oaks, pines, and maples, during the Napoleonic blockade. Its large oaks are of "high quality and particularly of large size, suitable for the construction of vessels."
Areas affected by the lumber industry on the Ottawa River include Arnprior
Arnprior
Arnprior is a town in Renfrew County, in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located at the mouth of the Madawaska River, as it enters the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...
, Hawkesbury, Ontario
Hawkesbury, Ontario
Hawkesbury is a town in the Eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada, on the Ottawa River, near the Quebec-Ontario border.It lies on the south shore of the Ottawa River about halfway between Downtown Ottawa and Downtown Montreal in Prescott and Russell Counties. The Long-Sault Bridge links it...
, Stittsville, Ontario
Stittsville, Ontario
Stittsville is a suburban community in the western part of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. A part of the National Capital Region, Stittsville is located immediately to the south-west of Kanata, and about from downtown Ottawa.-History:...
, North Gower, Ontario
North Gower, Ontario
North Gower is a large village in eastern Ontario, originally part of North Gower Township, now part of the city of Ottawa. Surrounding communities include Richmond, Kemptville, Kars and Manotick...
, Kemptville, Ontario
Kemptville, Ontario
Kemptville is a community located in the Municipality of North Grenville in Southern Ontario, Canada in the northernmost part of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville...
, Carleton Place, Ontario
Carleton Place, Ontario
Carleton Place is a town in the eastern portion of Eastern Ontario, Canada, in Lanark County, about west of downtown Ottawa. It is located at the crossroads of Highway 15 and Highway 7, halfway between the towns of Perth, Almonte, Smiths Falls, and the nation's capital, Ottawa...
, Pembroke, Ontario
Pembroke, Ontario
Pembroke is a city in the province of Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...
, and Lachute.
Highlands East, Ontario
Highlands East, Ontario
Highlands East is a township located in Haliburton County, Ontario, Canada.-History:The township was incorporated in 2001, upon the amalgamation of the former townships of Bicroft, Cardiff, Glamorgan and Monmouth.-Communities:...
Gooderham (not on the Ottawa River) southwest of Ottawa still has an active mill.
Lumber Industry and Sports
- Pembroke Lumber KingsPembroke Lumber KingsThe Pembroke Lumber Kings are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Pembroke, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Central Canada Hockey League and are the longest running and winningest team in CJHL history as well as 2011 Royal Bank Cup National Junior A Champions...
- Dave Gilmour
- Ottawa Curling ClubOttawa Curling ClubThe Ottawa Curling Club is an historic curling club located in downtown Ottawa on O'Connor Street. It is the oldest curling club in Ottawa, established in 1851 by Allan Gilmour as the Bytown Curling Club. The Club first played on the Rideau Canal until 1858...
was established in 1851 under the presidency of lumber businessman Allan Gilmour.
See Also
- History of OttawaHistory of OttawaThe History of Ottawa, capital of Canada, was shaped by events such as the construction of the Rideau Canal, the lumber industry, the choice of Ottawa as the location of Canada's capital, as well as American and European influences and interactions...
- Economic history of Canada#Timber
- British timber trade#Trade restrictions
- Lumber industry
External links
- Logging in the Ottawa Valley - Ottawa River Heritage Designation Committee
- The Timber Days - Bytown MuseumBytown MuseumThe Bytown Museum is a small museum in Ottawa located on the lower locks of the Rideau Canal at the Ottawa River just below Parliament Hill.The museum's exhibits follow the early history of the city, originally known as Bytown, and the construction of the Rideau Canal...