John Brown (builder)
John Brown (1809–1876) was a Canadian builder of Scottish origin. He is best remembered today for building Ontario's Imperial Towers.
Brown began his career as a stonemason's apprentice in Glasgow. At 23 he emigrated to the United States, to upstate New York. By 1838 he had moved again, this time to Thorold, Ontario, where he was to spend the remainder of his career.
Brown's first government project was the construction of the Gull Island Lighthouse in Lake Erie between 1846 and 1848. By 1850, his reputation had grown a great deal, which enabled him to branch out into various other concerns. He operated plaster mills and beds, cement mills, lime kilns and a steam sawmill, working with various partners. He also ran a shipyard at Allanburg and Port Robinson, Ontario, at which he built scows, dredges, and tugboats. In 1855 and 1862 various of his cement and plaster products won medals at the World's Fair in Paris. Brown's work, known for its high quality, eventually came to consist of nothing but government canal, rail, and harbor contracts.
The construction of the Imperial Towers nearly bankrupted Brown; by the spring of 1857 he had lost £1,500 on each tower, and relief appeared nowhere in sight. Consequently, he petitioned the provincial government for assistance. It would seem to have worked, for Brown managed to remain in business until his death.