Collection search - ICO Inc. (The Upper Ottawa Improvement Company) fonds [textual record, cartographic material, graphic material]
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ICO Inc. (The Upper Ottawa Improvement Company) fonds [textual record, cartographic material, graphic material]
Hierarchical level:FondsContext of this record:Fonds includes:348 lower level description(s)View lower level description(s) -
Finding aid Textual records (Electronic) The finding aid is a file list of volumes 1 to 108. MSS2196 (90: Open)
http://data2.archives.ca/pdf/pdf001/p000000706.pdf -
Record information ICO Inc. (The Upper Ottawa Improvement Company) fonds [textual record, cartographic material, graphic material]
Date:1866-1994.Reference:R2374-0-4-EType of material:Textual material, Photographs, Maps and cartographic materialFound in:Archives / Collections and FondsItem ID number:159708Date(s):1866-1994.Place of creation:No place, unknown, or undeterminedExtent:18.74 m of textual records
691 photographs
ca. 300 maps, plans and technical drawings.Language of material:EnglishAdded language of material:English, FrenchScope and content:Fonds documents the history of the Upper Ottawa Improvement Company and its affiliate organizations, the Coulonge and Crow River Boom Company and the Quinze Rapids Improvement Company through textual records, photographs, maps, plans and technical drawings. There are also records pertaining to other government works along the Ottawa River and its tributaries. These records offer insight into the Ottawa Valley sawlog and pulpwood industry, as well as the environmental and technological aspects of moving wood down the Ottawa River.
The records also chronicle the relationship between the ICO and the many lumber companies which relied on it to transport logs to their respective mills. These companies include (but are not limited to) J.R. Booth Ltd., Gillies Brothers, E.B. Eddy Co., W.C. Edwards & Co., Gilmour & Hughson, The Canadian Splint & Lumber Co., the Canadian International Paper Co., and Consolidated Bathurst.Provenance:Biography/Administrative history:Upper Ottawa Improvement Company : The Upper Ottawa Improvement Company (ICO) was established in 1868 by the Hon. John Hamilton, A.H. Baldwin, Levi Young, H.F. Bronson, William G. Perley and E.B. Eddy to act as a common carrier for all lumber companies transporting wood down the Ottawa River. Prior to that date, lumber companies competed to drive their logs down the river, resulting in confusion and costly delays. When the ICO received its federal charter in 1870, the company assumed responsibility for the slides and booms previously constructed by the Department of Public Works. The ICO was also granted the right to construct new works and acquire any property and equipment deemed necessary to facilitate the transmission of logs. In 1888, a special Act of Parliament extended the company's jurisdiction on the Ottawa River from the head of Lake Temiscaming to the Chaudiere Falls.
The development of the ICO was guided by its Board of Directors. Among the lumber barons who served on the board were J. R. Booth, A. Gilmour, E. B. Eddy, H. F. Bronson, J. A. Gillies, A. Fraser and F. L. Blackburn. Under the management of Secretary-Treasurer G.B. Greene, the ICO became a powerful influence along the River. ICO log booms physically dominated the river, their boats provided transportation to communities along the river and they employed hundreds of workers from small towns and villages in both Ontario and Quebec. This influence extended beyond the Ottawa River when the ICO began to manage the Coulonge and Crow River Boom Co. (established 1895) and the Quinze Rapids Improvement Company (established 1898). Although technically separate companies, both were owned by many of the same men who controlled the ICO.
At the time of the ICO's establishment, sawn lumber shipped to the United States was the mainstay of the lumber economy in the Ottawa Valley. Until 1910, the ICO moved only sawlogs down the Ottawa River. After that date, ICO operations expanded to accommodate both sawlogs and pulpwood deliveries to local mills.
ICO operations remained remarkably unchanged until after the Second World War. The retirement of E. C. Woolsey (Greene's successor as ICO Secretary) in 1946 ended an era of nineteenth century management practices. Operations also changed dramatically with the construction of water flow controls and six hydro-electric dams on the Ottawa River. The company could no longer drive logs down the river and relied instead on new equipment and techniques to tow and raft them.
In 1982, the company changed its name to ICO Inc., and shortly thereafter moved its head office from Ottawa to Portage du Fort, Québec. By this time the lumber industry in the Ottawa Valley was already in decline. After 1986, the ICO transported only pulpwood, and volumes of wood shipped continued to decrease. The last booms were floated down the river in 1991, and the ICO began to wind up its operations in 1999.Additional information:General note:Received in 1999 from ICO Inc.
The photographic and cartographic materials in the fonds are not fully described here. Please consult the Accession Record or the media archivist for more detailed information on these items.Language note:Approximately 10% of the correspondence in the fonds is in French.Associated material note:Upper Ottawa Improvement Company minutebooks, 1867-1888, are located in the Ottawa Room of the Ottawa Public Library. Extensive records relating the the James Maclaren Company are located in the Archives Nationales du Quebec, Centre Outaouais.Related material:Additional records relating to the Upper Ottawa Improvement Company, its affiliates, and the lumber trade in the Ottawa Valley can be found in the Bronson Company fonds (MG28-III26), the Arnold Gillies Muirhead fonds (MG29-A43), the George Hamilton fonds (MG24-D7), Gilmour and Hughson Ltd. fonds (MG28-III6) and Hill and Hill fonds (MG28-III46).Source:Private -
Ordering and viewing options Conditions of access:Access restriction documentTextual records[Consultation Restrictions vary]Finding aid box [FA 2196] 507[Consultation Closed]Graphic (photo)[Consultation Open]Volume [R2374] 109--110[Consultation Open]Box [UPPER OTTAWA IMPROVEMENT COMPANY 1962-049][Consultation Open]4207;[Consultation Open]INT 017;[Consultation Open]RDV 014;[Consultation Open]RV4 147;[Consultation Open]Cartographic material[Consultation Open]Volume [R2374] 111--134[Consultation Open]You can order materials in advance to be ready for you when you visit. You will need a user card to do this.
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