John Rudolphus Booth

John Rudolphus Booth (April 5, 1827 – December 8, 1925) was a Canadian lumber and railway baron.

Related Topics:
April 5 - 1827 - December 8 - 1925 - Canadian - Lumber - Railway

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He was born in 1827 on a farm in Quebec's Eastern Townships near Waterloo, Quebec. His parents were Irish immigrants. He left the family farm at the age of 21 and got a job as a carpenter with the Central Vermont Railroad.

Related Topics:
Quebec - Eastern Townships - Waterloo, Quebec - Irish - Carpenter - Central Vermont Railroad

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He married Rosalinda Cook in 1852 and moved to the Ottawa valley in 1854. He accumulated enough money to lease a sawmill near the Chaudière Falls. He established his own lumber company and won the contract to supply wood for the Parliament buildings at the new Canadian capital in Ottawa, Ontario, selected by Queen Victoria in 1858.

Related Topics:
Ottawa - 1854 - Sawmill - Chaudière Falls - Ottawa, Ontario - Queen Victoria - 1858

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In 1867, he purchased the timber rights of John Egan in what is now Algonquin Park. By 1892, he was the largest lumber producer in the world. White pine from Booth's lumber yards was used to build the decks on the ocean liners of the Cunard Line. In 1890, he completed the Canada Atlantic Railway connecting Ottawa to the United States. By 1896 His Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway ran from Depot Harbour on Georgian Bay through southern Algonquin Park to Ottawa.

Related Topics:
1867 - John Egan - Algonquin Park - 1892 - White pine - Cunard Line - 1890 - Canada Atlantic Railway - United States - 1896 - Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway - Depot Harbour - Georgian Bay

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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. He continued to run his business empire well into his nineties.

Related Topics:
Grain elevator - Steamship - Great Lakes - Cement - Pulp - 1904 - Grand Trunk Railway

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He died in 1925 after being ill for several months.

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:See also: Booth House, Fleck/Paterson House

Related Topics:
Booth House - Fleck/Paterson House

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