J.A.C. Kernohan Construction began in 1948 with the purchase of one truck. With that one truck, John Kernohan set out to offer his services to companies and people from Bowmanville to Sault Ste. Marie. If he wasn't hauling gravel in the summer, he was hauling logs in the winter.
He married Vera McKnight that same year and during those early years, she traveled with him, sometimes living in a small trailer with their young children close to the work. John worked all week and Vera was in charge of the bookkeeping, as she is today.
In the 1950's, they decided to expand their company with the purchase of more trucks and heavy equipment. Kernohan Construction began to construct cottage roads, which meant working six days a week and looking for more work on the seventh. They also purchased a small sawmill from which they processed logs hauled in from the Brady Lake and Anson Township areas.
In the 1960's, Kernohan Construction worked for Weldwood of Canada, the previous owners of the Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve, building many roads that are still used today. John & Vera would put on dinners at the cookery on the mill site for the growing number of snowmobilers moving through the area.
In the 1970's, they purchased Haliburton County's first ready mix concrete plant and today J.A.C. Kernohan runs concrete anywhere from Fenelon Falls and Norland to Bancroft and Dorset.
In the 1990's, the Kernohan Service Centre became an accredited Drive Clean Test Facility for heavy duty vehicle emission testing. As part of their logging business, John & Vera helped form the Bancroft Minden Forest Company as part of a sustainable forest license which manages, along with other private logging firms and area mills, our province's crown forests in the Bancroft and Minden districts. They started two quarries to produce stone for landscaping, fireplaces and decorative purposes to service the growing cottage industry in Haliburton County and beyond.
Truly a family business, their daughter Shannon works in the office, while husband, Ron Newbatt, supervises logging operations. Their son Bryan is a professional civil engineer. Grandsons James Kernohan and Ryan Newbatt have also joined the company.
The employees of Kernohan Construction are its greatest asset. Many have worked for the company for more than 45 years. Their years of service offer a wealth of experience to managers and customers alike.
Voted "Business of the Year" by the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce in 1998, J.A.C. Kernohan continues to offer its customers a wide variety of services, skills and products in a very competitive market.
The year 2002 saw Kernohan Construction complete an 18 unit timeshare complex on the shores of Kashagawigamog. This development comprised 18 separate cottages, septics and a water supply system as well as roads and landscaping to create a beautiful setting for visitors to Haliburton County.
What does the future hold for Kernohan Construction? Contact us, because you are our future.
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