Thomas Russ Deacon

{{Short description|Canadian politician (1865–1955)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| image = Thomas Russ Deacon.png

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| honorific-prefix = Mayor

| name = Thomas Russ Deacon

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| order = 24th Mayor of Winnipeg

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| birth_date = {{birth date|1865|1|3|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Perth, Canada West

| death_date = {{death date and age|1955|5|30|1865|1|3|df=yes}}

| death_place = Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

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| spouse = Lily Dingman (m. 1894)

| profession = Civil engineer

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Thomas Russ Deacon (3 January 1865 – 30 May 1955){{cite web | url=http://winnipegtimemachine.blogspot.com/2007/02/thomas-russ-deacon.html | title=Thomas Russ Deacon | first=George | last=Siamandas | work=The Winnipeg Time Machine | access-date=2009-01-22 | date=5 February 2007}} was a Canadian politician, the 24th Mayor of Winnipeg in 1913 and 1914.{{cite web | title=Thomas Russ Deacon (1865–1955) | url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/deacon_tr.shtml | publisher=Manitoba Historical Society | date=28 October 2008 | access-date=2009-01-22 }}{{cite web | url=http://www.winnipeg.ca/Services/CityLife/HistoryOfWinnipeg/MayorsPastPresent.stm | publisher=City of Winnipeg | access-date=2009-01-12 | title=City Government: Mayors, Past and Present | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081225130928/http://www.winnipeg.ca/Services/CityLife/HistoryOfWinnipeg/MayorsPastPresent.stm | archivedate=25 December 2008 }}

Deacon was born in Perth, Canada West. After working in Northern Ontario lumber camps, he returned to school, eventually graduating in 1891 with a civil engineering degree at the University of Toronto. After working on the water systems in North Bay, Ontario and on gold mining in Rat Portage, Deacon moved to Winnipeg in 1902 and by 1906 joined the city's council.{{cite web |title=Memorable Manitobans: Thomas Russ Deacon (1865–1955) |url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/deacon_tr.shtml |website=mhs.mb.ca}}

He campaigned for mayor on the basis of developing a new source of city water from Shoal Lake in northwestern Ontario. This Greater Winnipeg Water District Aqueduct system was created during Deacon's terms as mayor.{{cite book |last1=Wikipedia |first1=Source |last2=Llc |first2=Books |title=Winnipeg City Councillors: Dan Vandal, Russ Wyatt, Thomas Steen, Greg Selinger, Lillian Thomas, Ernie Gilroy, Bernie Wolfe, John Prystanski |date=September 2010 |publisher=General Books LLC |isbn=978-1-156-67151-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hlnHbwAACAAJ |language=en}} The Deacon reservoir, built in 1972, was named for Thomas Deacon.{{cite web |last1=Winnipeg |first1=City of |title=Treatment Plant Background – Water Treatment Program – Water and Waste – City of Winnipeg |url=https://winnipeg.ca/waterandwaste/water/treatment/plantBackground.stm |website=winnipeg.ca |language=English}}