George Baptist (7 January 1808 – 11 May 1875) was a logging contractor, born in Scotland and emigrated to Canada in 1832.
These were owned by Sir John Caldwell and gave him valuable experience for his future endeavours.
In 1846, he bought a sawmill in the Saint-Maurice region; which had been owned by Edward Greive, a member of the 2nd Parliament of the Province of Canada.
By 1852, a commission led by Étienne Parent was proposing a policy of crown lands grants.
Baptist brought innovation and prosperity to the lumber industry and it made him a prime example of the bourgeois class of Trois-Rivières.