James Cooper (1874 in London, Ontario – 1931) was a Canadian bootlegger who gained prosperity through the prohibition era.
He initiated the widespread practice of deep ploughing and tilled the acreage so that spring crops could be ready approximately two weeks sooner.
The successful experiment was quickly noticed by neighbouring farms and word spread rapidly through southern Ontario.
James Scott Cooper built several structures, including a mansion in Walkerville that has since been torn down, and a two-story building in Belle River.
On February 10, 1931, his wife Helen sent a telegram to Windsor, Ontario, indicating that he fell overboard and that the body had not been recovered.