Fonds F3147 - George McMullen fonds

George McMullen, 1844-1915, lived much of his life in Picton, Ontario but also operated several major businesses (including the Chicago Evening Post) with his brothers in Chicago, Illinois for several years in the 1870s. He was a key figure in the group assembled to build the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) at the request of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald. Montreal capitalist Sir Hugh Allan and his associates formed a CPR syndicate to seek the charter for the project, saying they would keep American capital out of the deal, but they were secretly partners with McMullen, Charles W. Smith, George W. Cass, Jay Cooke and others who lived in the USA and who were deeply involved in the building of the Northern Pacific Railroad. When it was revealed in the House of Commons that Allan and his associates had been granted the charter for the railway in return for $360,000 (or more) in political contributions it precipitated the Pacific Scandal. McMullen eventually returned to Canada around 1880 and was involved in several businesses including the Central Ontario Railway and the Ontario Wire Fencing Company. For further information see The National Dream : The Great Railway, 1871-1881 / Pierre Berton. -- Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1970.