John Rudolphus Booth (1827-1925)

The Booth House where I live now was built in 1906 by the Canadian lumber and railway baron John R. Booth. Booth's vision and boldness were qualities that made him a success. He established his own lumber company and won the contract to supply wood for the Parliament buildings at the new Canadian capital in Ottawa (we will visit the Parliament later …) By 1892, he was the largest lumber producer in the world and he built Canada's largest sawmill in Ottawa. In 1879 he established the Canada Atlantic Railway 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. Booth also operated grain elevators and steamships on the Great Lakes, a cement company and a pulp and paper mill. J. R. Booth continued to run his business empire well into his nineties. He died in 1925 at the age of 98.

Small rat in front of a great man ...