# James Arthur Mathieu

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**James Arthur Mathieu** (August 21, 1869 – November 23, 1966) was known as "the last of the [lumber kings](/source/Business_magnate),"[1] as well as "the Mighty Man of the Woods" and "the [Lath](/source/Lath) King of America."[2] Born in [Alma, Wisconsin](/source/Alma,_Wisconsin).,[3] he became an [Ontario](/source/Ontario) lumber merchant, philanthropist and political figure. He represented [Rainy River](/source/Rainy_River_(electoral_district)) in the [Legislative Assembly of Ontario](/source/Legislative_Assembly_of_Ontario) initially as a [Liberal-Conservative](/source/Liberal-Conservative_Party) in [1911](/source/1911_Ontario_general_election), and then as a [Conservative](/source/Progressive_Conservative_Party_of_Ontario) from [1914](/source/1914_Ontario_general_election) to [1923](/source/1923_Ontario_general_election) and [1926](/source/1926_Ontario_general_election) to [1929](/source/1929_Ontario_general_election).

## Biography

Having worked in his youth as a [log driver](/source/Log_driver) on the [Mississippi River](/source/Mississippi_River),[1] Mathieu came to [Rainy River](/source/Rainy_River,_Ontario) from [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota) around 1903 as a manager of the Rainy River Lumber Company's [sawmill](/source/Sawmill), later becoming manager and vice-president at the Shevlin-Clarke Company.[4] He was later involved in controversy as part of what became known as the "Old Tory Timber Ring,"[5] when fellow Conservative [Howard Ferguson](/source/Howard_Ferguson), as [Minister of Lands and Forests](/source/Ministry_of_Natural_Resources_and_Forestry), arranged for the sale of three timber limits in the [Quetico Forest Reserve](/source/Quetico_Provincial_Park) to Shevlin-Clarke for less than half the price they would have normally fetched,[6] and the company later paid a fine of $1.5 million for breaching the *Crown Timber Act*.[7] The transactions were criticized in a subsequent inquiry.[8]

In 1921, he left Shevlin-Clarke and founded J.A. Mathieu Limited, which set up a mill at [Rainy Lake](/source/Rainy_Lake).[9] The company opened another sawmill in 1945 at [Sapawe Lake](/source/Sapawe,_Ontario), near [Atikokan](/source/Atikokan).[10][11] He was instrumental in pioneering the use of mechanized equipment in the woods (while other firms were still relying mainly on horses), as well as in using aircraft.[12] After his death, the company was acquired by [Domtar](/source/Domtar).[11]

He set up an educational foundation to provide financial assistance for students from the area,[12] for which he was honoured in 1958 by the [Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation](/source/Ontario_Secondary_School_Teachers_Federation).[2] Mathieu also established a wildlife reserve and help fund community projects in the region.[12] During his time in the provincial assembly, he helped promote the development of roads to encourage settlement in the district.[12] He also served as President of the Northern Pine Manufacturers Association for 22 years.[2]

## References

1. Smith, Jessica (October 5, 2011). ["From the Last of the Lumber Kings, to the Softwood Lumber Dispute"](https://web.archive.org/web/20151226040752/http://atikokanprogress.ca/2011/10/05/from-the-last-of-the-lumber-kings-to-the-softwood-lumber-dispute/). *Atikokan Progress*. Archived from [the original](http://atikokanprogress.ca/2011/10/05/from-the-last-of-the-lumber-kings-to-the-softwood-lumber-dispute/) on December 26, 2015.

1. ["Lumbermen To Honor Mighty Woodsman"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19620212&id=KMAtAAAAIBAJ&pg=3243,1740238&hl=en). *[The Montreal Gazette](/source/The_Montreal_Gazette)*. February 12, 1962.

1. Normandin, Pierre G. (ed.) (1914). [*Canadian Parliamentary Guide*](https://books.google.com/books?id=zaQKAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Mathieu,+james+arthur%22+rainy+river). p. 320.

1. ["J.A. Mathieu Esq., M.P.P."](https://web.archive.org/web/20070928064920/http://www.fftimes.com/100-years-100-stories/mathieu.html). *Fort Frances Times and Rainy Lake Herald*. April 15, 1913. Archived from [the original](http://www.fftimes.com/100-years-100-stories/mathieu.html) on September 28, 2007. Retrieved September 6, 2007.

1. Gillis & Roach 1986, p. 100.

1. Nelles 2005, p. 386.

1. ["Mixed Division on Timber Bill in Legislature"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19220327&id=E58uAAAAIBAJ&pg=4099,7015454). *[Ottawa Citizen](/source/Ottawa_Citizen)*. March 27, 1922. p. 2., discussing the adoption of "20". 1922.

1. ["Lumber Company is Charged with Fraud"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=22&dat=19201102&id=JhI7AAAAIBAJ&pg=631,22002270). *[Toronto World](/source/Toronto_World)*. November 2, 1920. p. 5.

1. ["Fort Frances: Where Manufacturing of Lumber, Paper, Machinery produces Wealth"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190325124652/http://www.fftimes.com/100-years-100-stories/ffproduceswealth.html). *Fort Frances Times and Rainy Lake Herald*. December 10, 1925. Archived from [the original](http://www.fftimes.com/100-years-100-stories/ffproduceswealth.html) on March 25, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2015.

1. ["The Past: A Symbolic History"](http://www.borealforest.org/index.php?category=ont_nw_forest&page=history). *borealforest.org*. [Lakehead University](/source/Lakehead_University)

1. ["Atikokan Community Profile"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091529/http://atikokaninfo.com/aedc/communityProfile/acrobat/Chapter01_Profile_intro.pdf). *atikokaninfo.com*. Atikokan Economic Development Corporation. p. 3. Archived from [the original](http://atikokaninfo.com/aedc/communityProfile/acrobat/Chapter01_Profile_intro.pdf) on 2016-03-04.

1. ["J.A. Mathieu"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070928064920/http://www.fftimes.com/100-years-100-stories/mathieu.html). *Fort Frances Times and Rainy Lake Herald*. November 23, 1966. Archived from [the original](http://www.fftimes.com/100-years-100-stories/mathieu.html) on September 28, 2007. Retrieved September 6, 2007.

## Further reading

- Gillis, R. Peter & Roach, Thomas R. (1986). ["Lost Initiatives: Canada's Forest Industries, Forest Policy, and Forest Conservation"](https://archive.org/details/lostinitiativesc0000gill). *Contributions in Economics and Economic History*. Westport: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-25415-X. [ISSN 0084-9235](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0084-9235)
- Nelles, H.V. (2005). [*Politics of Development: Forests, Mines, and Hydro-Electric Power in Ontario, 1849–1941*](https://books.google.com/books?id=N9DRjjxZRPQC&pg=PP1). 2nd ed. [McGill-Queen's University Press](/source/McGill-Queen's_University_Press). ISBN 0-7735-2758-3.

## External links

- [Member's parliamentary history for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario](http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_all_detail.do?locale=en&ID=1486) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070930224725/http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_all_detail.do?locale=en&ID=1486) 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine

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