James Farrand Ruttan (March 10, 1850 – January 21, 1904) was a real estate agent and politician in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He was mayor of Port Arthur from 1891 to 1892. He was born in

Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

, the son of Henry Jones Ruttan, who was the son of Henry Ruttan, and Margaret Pringle. Ruttan began work with the Post Office in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, later becoming involved in railway construction. In 1882, he opened a real estate office in Port Arthur, settling there the following year. Ruttan became real estate agent for the McVicar family, a large land-holder in the area. This brought him into conflict with the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

, who required land to build a railway station. Rutton served on the town council in 1884, 1888 and 1889. From 1889 to 1903, he was Crown Lands agent for the Thunder Bay District. Ruttan died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in Port Arthur at the age of 53. Farrand Street and Ruttan Street in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

were named in his honour. His brother Henry Norlande served as Winnipeg's first city engineer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruttan, James F 1850 births 1904 deaths Mayors of Port Arthur, Ontario Huguenots 19th-century mayors of places in Ontario