Mayor and Businessman (image: mill flyer)

“Our present chief magistrate graces the civic chair by his ability, his urbane demeanor, and the strength and force of his character and position. ‘The right man in the right place’ can with propriety be said of Mr. Dickinson, as mayor of the city of Ottawa. This gentleman’s interests are closely identified with the general interests of the city and its vicinity”(Ottawa Citizen Editorial).

When Moss was 48, he sold his forwarding company, probably at a considerable loss. He was losing business to steam trains.

Moss did not re-marry. His youngest daughter Lydia, died when she was 12. About this time, he moved his family to Manotick, into a new house, which he had had built, the present day Dickinson House. The front portion was a store which supplied dry goods, groceries hardware and agricultural instruments. Later his son, George ran the post office in that section. The back part with an extension, no longer there, was the living quarters.

Between ages 50 and 57, Moss owned: 160 village lots; 14 commercial lots; 18 hydraulic lots; a saw mill; a grist mill; a bung mill; and a carding and cloth factory. He was truly an entrepreneur.