Stephen P. Benjamin
1837 – 1912
Tombstone
Wolfville Nova Scotia
Located in Willowbank Cemetery on the east side of Gaspereau Avenue
at the Willow Avenue intersection
GPS location: 45°05’15″N 64°21’29″W
The above photographs were taken on 8 June 2004.
Nova Scotia Electric Light Company Limited
White Rock Mills Tramway Gaspereau, Kings County, Nova Scotia
NSL 1873 chapter 24 — Act to authorize the construction of a Tramway from White Rock Mills, by S.P.Benjamin and others
NSL 1897 chapter 111 — Act to incorporate S.P. Benjamin Co. Ltd.
NSL 1899 chapter 135 — Act to incorporate the Nova Scotia Electric Light Co. Ltd.
NSL 1900 chapter 165 — Amendment respecting sale by S.P. Benjamin Co. Ltd.
NSL 1901 chapter 174 — Amendment
NSL 1902 chapter 171 — Amendment
“NSL” refers to Acts of the Nova Scotia Legislature.
See: History of Electric Companies in Nova Scotia
Lumber baron and mystery entrepreneur
Stephen Peter Benjamin (1837-1912)
by Ed Coleman, 13 August 2004
W. R. Huntley, master shipbuilder of Parrsboro, has obtained a contract from S.P.Benjamin, Port Williams, to build five scows and a steamer to be used in bringing his lumber down the Avon River to a place of shipment. Mr.Huntley will build them at Port Greville. The steamer will be a shoal draught and built on the sectional plan with all the machinery inside.
— Berwick Register, 17 Feb. 1897
Mr. S.P. Benjamin has given the contract for building five scows and a small steamer to Mr. R.W.Huntley of this town (Hantsport). The building will be done at Port Greville. Mr. Benjamin intends bringing his lumber to Hantsport for shipment as the government has voted for a dock on which work will probably soon begin. Several contractors have been examining specifications, etc.
— Berwick Register, 10 March 1897
The tug boat Marina calls here on her way to and from Port Williams. She belongs in Yarmouth and is employed by S.P.Benjamin, Esq., towing scows of deal* from Port Williams to ships loading at different points.
— Berwick Register, 21 July 1897
*Deal: A fir or pine board or plank cut to standard dimensions;
a plank of softwood timber, such as fir or pine, or such planks collectively
[Middle English dele, from Middle Dutch
and Middle Low German dele, plank.]
Kingsport presents a lively spectacle in the shipping line at present. The barkentine Skoda has just left the Marine slip blocks. She had new masts put in and a new copper bottom. The bark Conductor is also being repaired there. The Ruth Robinson and a Windsor schooner are to be the next on the blocks. Inspector Douglas pronounces the blocks as good as any of which he knows. John Bigelow is foreman of the works and John Henderson master caulker. There are twenty men engaged at coppering. The Conductor and the Roder are to be loaded with lumber for South America when completed. The S.P.Benjamin Company are to be the shippers.
— Berwick Register, 17 Aug. 1898
Berwick Register clips: thanks to Phil Vogler.
The Annapolis Valley Newspaper Extracts Project
Link to Relevant Website
Lumber Baron and Mystery Entrepreneur by Ed Coleman, 13 August 2004
“The most considerable lumber merchant in the county for the
past 20 or 30 years has been Mr. S. P. Benjamin,” A.W.H. Eaton
notes in his Kings County history, published in 1910.
“His ownership of lumber woods and his large shipments of lumber give
him a conspicuous place in the county’s long role of enterprising men…”
Benjamin owned the first telephone in Wolfville…
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/ecoleman/editorial/2004/e04aug13.html
