J.H. Ross started what was to become Orillia’s longest-surviving boat-building business in 1890 on the waterfront just north of Mississaga St.

In early 2023, OHC received some pictures of ad reprints from Rod and Gun Magazine featuring Ross Canoes. At the time, the City of Orillia was undertaking a major redesign of the waterfront area and we thought back to how the history of J.H. Ross was intertwined with major changes at Orillia's waterfront in the past:

• Their boathouse was one of many that had to be relocated with the arrival of the CPR railway in 1912.
• The fire that destroyed their business and took out most of Rolland’s Boat Livery in April; 1964 was an impetus to the creation of Centennial Park and Centennial Drive for Canada’s (and Orillia’s) Centennial in 1967.

A comprehensive history of development on Orillia's waterfront is provided in the book "A Waterfront for Everyone" by David F. Town

Over the span of 74 years, the product line at J.H. Ross grew to be expansive and very well regarded. Ross was able to combine the skills of being an accomplished paddler, sculler, and sailor with a talent for excellent boat building to develop truly unique innovations. Ross is generally regarded as one of four dominant boat builders in Orillia, the others being Dean, Ditchburn, and Hunter. More information on boat building in Orillia is covered in our video on YouTube:

There are some other pictures and advertisements for Ross in this gallery:

and reprint of a Ross catalog from 1914 here: