James Whalen

James Whalen (April 29, 1869 – June 4, 1929) was a Canadian businessperson and entrepreneur based in Port Arthur, Ontario, now part of Thunder Bay, Ontario, with interests in the forest industries, shipbuilding, dredging, and towing. He began as a timber contractor in the 1890s, he built an impressive business empire in various Great Lakes marine businesses. With the help of his brothers he was less successful in entering the competitive British Columbia pulp and paper business that went bankrupt in 1925.

He was born in Collingwood, Ontario, April 29, 1869, to Joseph Whalen and Alice Broad, and died in Duluth, Minnesota June 4, 1929.Port Arthur News-Chronicle 4 June 1929 His marriage to Laurel Conmee in 1896 allied his fortunes to her father, the formidable Ontario politician and contractor James Conmee.

He constructed the eight-storey Whalen building in Port Arthur in 1913.

Companies associated with James Whalen
Western Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company
Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company, PASCO
Great Lakes Dredging Company
Canadian Towing and Wrecking Company
Dominion Towing and Salvage Company
Whalen Pulp and Paper Company (British Columbia)
Canada West Coast Navigation Company
Canada Pebble Company

References

Category:1869 births
Category:1929 deaths
Category:Canadian businesspeople
Category:People from Thunder Bay