J. R. Booth

John Rudolphus Booth was born in Lower Canada, became a carpenter and moved to Bytown in 1854. He and his wife operated a single splitter and sold them roadside by night. In 1858 he obtained the contract to supply the wood for the Parliament Buildings. By 1900 he employed 1500 men in his sawmills. He evenutally built and operated three railways, managed a fleet of steamboats, and held the largest volume of timber rights in the British Empire.