James L. Ross, pionnier du chemin de fer et grand philanthrope, a laissé sa trace un peu partout au pays — et le campus de McGill n’y fait pas exception. Grâce à une initiative de la Clan Ross Association of Canada, l’héritage de James L. Ross est désormais immortalisé dans le Pavillon Chancellor Day.
If you look closely enough at the famous photo “The Last Pike”, which immortalizes Donald Alexander Smith driving in the final pike to complete the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR), connecting our country from east to west, you might be able to spot one of the great figures of our history among the men standing on the railroad track.
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- The Last Spike
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- James Ross as a young man.
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- Ross House, with James Ross seated, and son J.K.L. standing with a parrot on his shoulder.
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- A plaque honouring James Ross is now displayed in his former residence, which is now Chancellor Day Hall.
Overseeing the construction of the CPR west of Winnipeg, over the Rocky Mountains, was one of the many accomplishments of James L. Ross (1848-1913), a successful railroad entrepreneur who had emigrated from his native Scotland to North America in 1868.
As an industrialist, business man, and philanthropist, Ross’s contributions to the Canadian society of his time are seemingly countless. He helped build railroads, electrify street cars, and build hospitals—including a wing at the Royal Victoria Hospital. He was a Governor and generous benefactor of McGill University; a director of the Bank of Montreal, the Royal Trust, and many others; and President of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, which he helped establish. And the Faculty of Law also has a personal debt to Ross.
In 1892, James Ross commissioned Bruce Price, a renowned American architect, who also designed McGill’s Royal Victoria College and the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, to build a house for him on Peel Street—at 3644 Peel Street, to be precise. He lived in the James Ross House until his death in 1913, upon which his son J.K.L. Ross inherited the house and a considerable fortune.
By 1935, having dilapidated all of his inheritance on gifts, parties, horse racing, deep sea fishing and yachts, J.K.L. Ross went bankrupt, and the house was sold for a mere $51,000. John W. McConnell bought the Ross Mansion in 1948 as a gift to McGill. At this time, it was renamed Chancellor Day Hall, in honour of one of the University’s first Chancellors, and it became home to McGill’s Faculty of Law.
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- Members of Clan Ross and members of the McGill community gathered in the foyer.
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- J. Donaldson Ross is the Clan’s historian, and told the audience more about James Ross.
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- Andrew Ross Thibodeau sharing a few thoughts.
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- Donald Fraser Ross explaning how he and James Ross shared careers in Canadian railway.
Le 11 décembre dernier, quelques représentants du Clan Ross, arborant fièrement les couleurs de leur héritage écossais, se sont joints à des membres de la communauté de McGill pour une cérémonie intime afin de dévoiler une nouvelle plaque à la mémoire de James L. Ross dans son ancienne demeure, près de l’entrée du Pavillon Chancellor Day.
Donald Fraser Ross, président sortant de la Clan Ross Association of Canada, a partagé la connexion intime qu’il ressent à l’endroit de Ross, ayant lui-même fait carrière dans le domaine ferroviaire, notamment à titre d’enquêteur principal pour le Bureau de la sécurité des transports du Canada à la suite de la tragédie de Lac-Mégantic. Mais Donald Ross ne croit pas que ce lien personnel qu’il ressent à l’endroit de Ross soit unique. La portée de ses accomplissements et l’impact qu’il a eu sur son époque sont tels qu’il est facile de trouver des points d’intersection avec sa propre vie, a-t-il dit à la petite assemblée.
« Je crois que nombre de personnes qui passent par la Faculté et qui s’arrêteront pour lire cette plaque (et pour réfléchir aux réalisations de James L. Ross) sauront elles aussi trouver ce lien avec lui. », a-t-il déclaré pour conclure l’inauguration.
Learn more about the Clan Ross Association of Canada on their website: www.greatclanross.org