William Dugas (, 1809–unknown) was a Canadian-American millwright, farmer, and politician who served in the Minnesota Territorial House of Representatives from 1849 to 1850. He was also responsible for the first

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Biography

Dugas was born in Three Rivers,

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

, in 1809. He emigrated to the United States in 1831 and spent time traveling to locations such as

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He settled in

in 1844. He was employed as a

millwright A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...

and in 1845, he built the first sawmill in the city. It was powered by water and was situated on

Phalen Creek Lake Phalen is an urban lake located in Saint Paul, Minnesota and in its suburb of Maplewood. It is one of the largest lakes in Saint Paul and is the centerpiece of the Phalen Regional Park System. The lake drains into the Mississippi River after ...

. Eighteen months later, he sold the mill, moved to Little Canada, and engaged in farming. Dugas was elected to the Territorial House in 1849 and served on the roads committee. He was described as being "somewhat illiterate, but made up for isdeficiencies in isrespect by ishard common sense and honesty of purpose." Following his legislative stint, he engaged in the hotel business and ran a ferry in

St. Anthony Saint Anthony, Antony, or Antonius most often refers to Anthony of Padua, also known as Saint Anthony of Lisbon, the patron saint of lost things. This name may also refer to: People * Anthony of Antioch (266–302), Martyr under Diocletian. Feast ...

. Later he would move to

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

and operated a farm there.

References

External links

Biography
at

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennia ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dugas, William 1809 births Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota Immigrants to the United States Members of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature Millwrights Farmers from Minnesota Year of death missing