John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member model12
N 45° 26.776 W 075° 39.940
18T E 447944 N 5032742
John Rudolphus Booth (April 5, 1827 – December 8, 1925) was a Canadian lumber and railway baron. He controlled logging rights for large tracts of forest land in central Ontario, and built a railway (Canada Atlantic Railway).
Waymark Code: WMB6RE
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 04/12/2011
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member rangerroad
Views: 34

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.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Grave of a Famous Person
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log  
The Burrow visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 05/13/2022 The Burrow visited it
Weathervane visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 06/27/2018 Weathervane visited it
22Bongo visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 11/30/2017 22Bongo visited it
lindeye visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 08/19/2014 lindeye visited it
Xira visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 03/23/2014 Xira visited it
elyob visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 04/16/2013 elyob visited it
castormalin7405 visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 03/30/2013 castormalin7405 visited it
Sires4 visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 06/24/2012 Sires4 visited it
Kenmore visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 01/23/2012 Kenmore visited it
Weathervane visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 01/07/2012 Weathervane visited it
SigsPig visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 12/03/2011 SigsPig visited it
petendot visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 05/27/2011 petendot visited it
petendot visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 05/27/2011 petendot visited it
Jman & Magoo visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 05/01/2011 Jman & Magoo visited it
model12 visited John Rudolphus Booth - Canadian Lumber Baron 04/12/2011 model12 visited it

View all visits/logs