John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

Booth's vision and boldness were qualities that made him a success. By 1892, he was the largest lumber producer in the world. He built Canada's largest sawmill in Ottawa, and very early on established a planing mill and offices in the United States. Fire was a constant threat to his mills, and they burnt down in 1893, 1886, 1900 and 1903. (Much of Booth's personal and business records were lost at these times.) Half of the mills' output was shipped to England; the rest to the United States and throughout Canada. White pine from Booth's lumber yards was used to build the decks on the ocean liners of the Cunard Line.

In 1879 he established the Canada Atlantic Railway (an amalgamation of the Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway and the Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company) to carry his logs from Central Ontario to Ottawa, and his lumber from Ottawa to the States. In 1890, he completed the Canada Atlantic Railway connecting Ottawa to the United States. He even built a railway bridge across the St. Lawrence River at Coteau Landing (1888–1890) to move his lumber faster than crossing the river on barges. By 1896, his Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway (later amalgamated into the Canada Atlantic Railway) ran from Depot Harbour on Georgian Bay through southern Algonquin Park to Ottawa.

Booth also operated grain elevators and steamships on the Great Lakes, a cement company and a pulp and paper mill. In 1904, he sold his railway to the Grand Trunk Railway (later incorporated into the Canadian National Railways.

J. R. Booth continued to run his business empire well into his nineties. He died in 1925 at the age of 98 after being ill for several months and was survived by his sons Jackson, John Frederick, daughter Helen Gertrude Fleck and several grandchildren and great grandchildren.

See also (visit link)

Description: The Greatest Lumberman Canada Ever Produced. By 1892, he was the largest lumber producer in the world. He established the Canada Atlantic Railway. Booth eventually owned more than 18,000 square kilometres of forest and became the largest individual timber limit owner in the British Empire. He died in 1925 at the age of 98 after being ill for several months and at his death his estate was officially valued at over $7.7 million. http://24369.vws.magma.ca/connect/research/local/booth_e.html Date of birth: 04/05/1827 Date of death: 12/08/1925 Area of notoriety: Science/Technology Marker Type: Monument Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Dawn til Dusk Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for waymarks in this category, you must have personally visited the waymark location. When logging your visit, please provide a note describing your visit experience, along with any additional information about the waymark or the surrounding area that you think others may find interesting.

We especially encourage you to include any pictures that you took during your visit to the waymark. However, only respectful photographs are allowed. Logs which include photographs representing any form of disrespectful behavior (including those showing personal items placed on or near the grave location) will be subject to deletion.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   05/13/2022 The Burrow visited it 06/27/2018 Weathervane visited it 11/30/2017 22Bongo visited it 08/19/2014 lindeye visited it 03/23/2014 Xira visited it 04/16/2013 elyob visited it 03/30/2013 castormalin7405 visited it 06/24/2012 Sires4 visited it 01/23/2012 Kenmore visited it 01/07/2012 Weathervane visited it 12/03/2011 SigsPig visited it 05/27/2011 petendot visited it 05/27/2011 petendot visited it 05/01/2011 Jman & Magoo visited it 04/12/2011 model12 visited it

View all visits/logs