Anson Dodge

Who was Anson Dodge?

Anson Greene Phelps Dodge was a Canadian lumber dealer and political figure. He represented York North in the Canadian House of Commons from 1872 to 1874 as a Conservative member.

He was born in New York City, the son of William E. Dodge and Melissa Phelps, and educated in England. He married Rebecca Wainwright Grew in 1859. In 1872, he was naturalized by an act of parliament. Dodge established lumber mills on Georgian Bay.

Following a variety of occupations, Anson Dodge began his own lumber career in 1864 at Williamsport, Pennsylvania. First attracted to the forests of Ontario in 1866, with an invitation from Henry W. Sage, possibly at a time when Sage was considering disposing of his Bell Ewart mill. After a tour of the facilities at Bell Ewart, Anson continued his trek northward to Oakley township in Muskoka where Sage had recently acquired timber berths. Anson also purchased timber in the township and a small mill on Lake Simcoe at Atherly, near Orillia. Dodge continued his spending spree, purchasing timber berths and mills with various partners, establishing his Georgian Bay Lumber Company in 1869, with a new mill at Byng Inlet.