"When Lumber was King"

The Aberdeen Pavilion

2005-08-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

The historic and recently restored Aberdeen Pavilion is host to "When Lumber was King" during the 2005 edition of the Central Canada's Exhibition's 'SuperEx'. With assistance from sponsors such as Logs End Inc. and the New Ontario Trilium Foundation and volunteers from the Rideau Township Historical Society, the CCE is helping the city celebrate its 150th anniversary with a tribute to the 19th century lumbermen of Bytown and Ottawa.

The 'Pure Country' Pavilion

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For the duration of the SuperEx, the Aberdeen Pavilion is transformed into 'pure country' featuring agricultural displays, country music, home crafts, horse displays, horseback and wagon rides. One of its centrepiece displays is a tribute to Ottawa's lumber trade of a century and a half ago: "When Lumber was King".

"When Lumber was King"

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The theme was chosen to coincide with Ottawa's 150th birthday celebration. With the transition from Bytown to Ottawa, the city went from a brawling, bustling frontier town to an economic centre with the largest concentration of saw milling operations in the world. Many of the city's inhabitants in 2005 are descended from the workers and families who were associated with the lumber trade in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The New Ontario Trillium Foundation

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"When Lumber was King" was made possible by a generous grant from The New Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Logs End Inc.

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Logs End is a thriving and innovative flooring business based on the reclamation of old growth timber logs from the Ottawa River. The company provided much of the raw materials used for the display, along with many of the historical timber artifacts and tools. Rarely has a sponsorship been more appropriate: Logs End's business is based on the century-old raw materials featured in "When Lumber is King".

Coral Lindsay

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Visitors to "When Lumber is King" are greeted by Coral Lindsay, noted local historian and heritage interpreter. Mrs. Lindsay, a co-founder of the Rideau Valley Historical Society more than twenty years ago, provided much of the content, imagery, artifacts -- and inspiration -- for the display.

Lumber Camp

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The 'Pure Country' Aberdeen Pavilion's "When Lumber was King" recreates the feeling of a turn-of-the-century lumber camp and of the hardy men who owned and worked them.

Lumber Baron Display

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The centrepiece of the "When Lumber was King" display is the rough-hewn shed with portraits and biographies of the original timber barons, along with historic artifacts, tools and photographs. The photos are drawn from the National Archives of Canada, the City of Ottawa Archives and its Rideau Township branch.

Log Shanty

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A key feature of the display is a wooden replica shanty of the type which housed timber workers in the forests of the Ottawa Valley.

Horse Statues and Reclamated Logs

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Two huge horse statues grace the lumberman's display and simulate the teams that pulled felled logs from the bush to the river's edge. The display logs, courtesy of Logs End, are actual timbers reclaimed from the bottom of the Ottawa River.

Log Seats

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Logs End also provided sawn logs for seating at the lumber man's display from which a video presentation on the lumber barons can be viewed.

Lumber King's Shed

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The Lumberman's Display features a rough-hewn shed with nooks containing portraits and biographies of Bytown and Ottawa's lumber barons. It also features a collection of rare artifacts and lumbering tools. The outside corners of the display have easels with additional portraits and stories of the timber barons.

Booth Display

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J. R. Booth was a giant among Ottawa timber barons and an immutable force among Canadian lumbermen. His stately residence on Metcalfe Street -- with some of the finest, intricate handcut woodcarving in Eastern Canada -- was the home of the Laurentian Club for many years. Booth Street was named in his honour and marked the location of many of his lumberyards.

J. R. Booth

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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.

Bronson Display

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Henry Franklin Bronson was an American who emigrated to Canada and became a major industrialist and philanthropist in Ottawa. Bronson Avenue is named in his honour.

Henry Franklin Bronson

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H. F. Bronson was born in New York, moved to Canada in 1852, and was among the first of the timber barons to ship to the U.S. market. By 1871, his mills we producing 70,000,000 board feet of lumber. His stately residence and chaudiere mills were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1900.

MacKay Display

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Thomas MacKay was a respected industrialist, architect, politican, and militia officer whose relentless initiative was responsible for much of the economic growth of early Bytown.

Thomas MacKay

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Thomas MacKay moved from Scotland to Montreal and onto Bytown in 1817. Ten years later he received the contract to build the Rideau Canal's Ottawa, Hartwells, Hogs Back and Jones Falls lockstations. He build his first sawmill at Rideau Falls upon completion of the Canal in 1832 and soon added a flour mill, bakery, cloth factory and distillery. He built a second mill which manufactured shingles and more finished products such as doors, windows and sashes. The streets of New Edinburg bear the names of his wife and children and his home, Rideau Hall, is now the official residence of the Governor General of Canada.

Gilmour Display

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Allan Gilmour, a Scotsman, became a Bytown timber merchant, lumber manufacturer, sportsman, militia officer, and an art connoisseur.

Allan Gilmour

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Allan Gilmour moved his company headquarters to Bytown in 1853 and established what was to become one of Canada's largest timber operations. He was a major in the militia during the Fenian troubles and the first president of the Ottawa Curling Club. At the time of his death 110 years ago, his estate was valued at $1,000,000.

Hurdman Display

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Charles Hurdman of Ireland and his wife (of the Cameron Scottish peerage) joined Philmon Wright to pioneer the Hull settlement.

Charles Hurdman

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Charles Hurdman's descendants became lumber barons and founders of the Hurdman Bridge settlement. They operated lumber and livestock on a large scale in Gloucester. The first Hurdmans bridge was built by the family in 1865 to connect their lumber facilities on both sides of the Rideau River.

Logging Artifacts and Tools

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Logs End, Coral Lindsay, Jack Graham, and Wayne Roy each contributed to this showcase of logging tools and artifacts from their private collections.

Logging Hooks

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Few lumbering tools required more dexterity than the heavy hooks raftsmen used to corral logs in the bush and on the river.

Hurdman 'H'

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Logs were often floated together from different camps and separate owners, only to be sorted further downriver according to their stamps . J. R. Booth's logs were branded with his famous 'Diamond B' while Hurdman's 'H' (above) identified his logs.