Asa Ribble

Asa Ribble (1841–1911), a Canadian sailor who attained the rank of captain, served eight terms as mayor of Dresden, Ontario.

Biography

Mayor of Dresden, Ontario

During his first term in 1889, Ribble oversaw the construction of a new bridge over the Sydenham River, replacing the 1864 original. He was also superintendent of agriculture for the short-lived Dresden Sugar Refining Company, which operated a beet sugar factory. In addition, he was instrumental in establishing, in 1901, Dresden's first vegetable-canning factory.

Master mariner

Ribble commanded the steam-powered barge Victoria in 1881. In 1882, he was the master of the "fine new steamer" Byron Trerice, a freighter transporting barrel-staves and cordwood between Detroit and Dresden. Named after the son of its owner, Alexander Trerice, the first mayor of Dresden, it was later refitted to carry passengers.

He became the owner of the fishtug Ariadne in 1901, with his ownership (or that of his estate) recorded in successive editions of the annual "Great Lakes Register". In 1908, Ribble was the master of the passenger-steamer City of Chatham, which plied Lake Erie between Pelee Island, Kingsville, Leamington, Windsor, and Sandusky.