William Henry Eugene Bravender

William Henry Eugene Bravender

William Henry Eugene Bravender was an initial shareholder in the Lakefield Portland Cement Company, of Lakefield, Ontario, and the Vancouver Portland Cement Company, whose lands at Tod Inlet are now the Butchart Gardens.

In 1905 he became Vice-President of the Alberta Portland Cement Company, which was controlled by Toronto financiers Edward Rogers Wood and Senator George Albertus Cox who also controlled the Vancouver Portland Cement Company which operated on the site of what is now the Butchart Gardens.

In 1909 he became a Director of the Canada Cement Company, which took over the Owen Sound Portland cement Company, the Lakefield Portland Cement Company and the Alberta Portland Cement Company.

At this point we do not know much more about William Henry Eugene Bravender. He is described in the Lakefield Portland Cement Company corporate records as a cement manufacturer from the village of Warners, NY.

A newspaper article from the 1920’s says he was a chemist who worked as a consultant with the Owen Sound Portland Cement Company during the late 1890’s. The same article says Bravender taught Jennie Butchart how to be a cement company chemist and that Jennie used this knowledge to become a chemist at the Owen Sound Portland Cement Company’s Shallow Lake plant.

There is a William Henry Eugene Bravender (1859-1931) buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California.

At this point we have not confirmed whether this is the William Henry Eugene Bravender who was a shareholder in the Lakefield Portland Cement Company and the Vancouver Portland Cement Company.

Would you like to leave a comment or question about anything on this page?