Our history
 The
Ferguson Forest Centre was established in 1945 by Ontario's
Department of Lands and Forests (renamed the Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources in 1972). Begun as part
of the province's accelerated reforestation program,
it was then known as the G. Howard Ferguson Forest Station,
honouring a man who had devoted great time and energy
to the fledgling concept of sustainable forestry.
George Howard Ferguson (1870-1946) was born in Kemptville
and became a member of provincial legislature by 1905.
He was appointed as Minister for Lands, Forests, and
Mines in 1914, and then served as Ontario Premier from
1923 to 1930. In all posts, Ferguson was committed to
forest conservation, promoting “sane and modern
methods of timber conservation” and working to
“develop our forest wealth along lines of perpetuating
its possibilities.”
 For
fifty years since it's inception, the G. Howard Ferguson
Forest Station was owned and operated by the Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources. However, In 1995 the
Province closed the nursery and sold the tree seedling
production land to the Township of Oxford on the Rideau
in 1997.
Then, in 2000, a non-profit corporation known as the
Ferguson Forest Centre Corporation (FFCC) was formed
which leases the seedling production land from the Municipality
of North Grenville. The FFCC continues to produce seedlings
to supply the demands of private landowners, forest
industry as well as numerous other agencies for large
and small planting projects all over southern and eastern
Ontario.
The Ferguson Forest Centre produces millions of trees
each year. Between its establishment in 1945 and 1991,
nearly 300 million trees had been shipped!
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