Philemon Wright Philemon Wright, the founder of
Wright's Town (present-day
Gatineau, Quebec), built the first timber raft, called
Columbo, to go down the Ottawa River on June 11, 1806, taking 35 days to get to Montreal alone. It was manned by Philemon, his 17-year-old son Tiberius and three crewmen—London Oxford, Martin Ebert and John Turner—along its trip to
Quebec City. The raft had to be broken up into cribs to clear the
Long Sault Rapids (the original Anishinaabe name was Kinodjiwan, meaning long-rapids, invisible since the river was dammed at the
Carillon Generating Station). The 300-kilometer trip was dangerous with treacherous sections of rapids, specifically the Long Sault on the lower Ottawa. Their raft accidentally came apart while traversing the river and ultimately 2 months were added onto their trip. This delay in their schedule cause Wright to miss his contract and left him unable to sell the lumber until months later. This delay unexpectedly turned positive as when the timber was sold in late November, Napoleon had just cut off the Baltic–British timber trade. These series of events led to Wright setting president for future squared timber trade in the Ottawa Valley. The first
timber slide on the Ottawa River was built by Philemon's son,
Ruggles Wright, on the North Side near the Chaudière Falls following a visit to Scandinavia to learn of lumbering techniques there. Philemon had an employee,
Nicholas Sparks, who owned the land that would eventually form the heart of
Bytown, and whose name would be given to
Sparks Street.
Henry Franklin Bronson Henry Franklin Bronson 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 his father's business.
John Rudolphus Booth and sons, c. 1900
John Rudolphus Booth was one of Canada's largest lumber barons and 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. Booth's operation in the 1870s was so immense, it produced more than 30 million board feet of pine lumber.
Perley and Pattee William Goodhue Perley was a lumber businessman in 1852 on the Chaudière of Perley and Pattee, both Americans. His partner,
William Goodhue Perley, had a son,
George Halsey Perley, who was also in the business.
David Pattee was not part of this firm, though he had much in common with the sawmills and Ottawa.
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, Leamy and Young began to erect lumber mills, and from 1856 to 1860, Perley, Pattee, Booth and Eddy followed.
Allan Gilmour, Sr. 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 employed 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, sometimes considered as one of the founding fathers of Ottawa for his work in building and 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, who once established industry in
Wakefield, Quebec in 1853, 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 his partners, he bought sawmills at
Buckingham, Quebec, later buying out his partners. Other notable lumber barons, importers, and politicians included
James Skead,
John Rochester,
Daniel McLachlin,
John Egan,
William Borthwick,
James Davidson,
Andrew Leamy,
William Stewart,
William Hamilton, and
George Hamilton. == Legacy ==