Economic History Archives | Page 3 of 3 | The birth of Rouyn and Noranda: a mining story

Aerial View of Rouyn Township in the Mid-1920s

At the top, you can see the Rouyn village south of Osisko Lake. At that time, about 600 people lived there permanently. The first newcomers settled near Osisko […]

Aerial View of Rouyn and Noranda in August 1933

Virtually no one lived in the Rouyn township in the early 1920s. But the number of inhabitants grew in 1933, at the time this photo was taken, to […]

Miner’s Equipment

As working in underground mines is particularly hazardous, miners must use the proper safety equipment. On the top left, there is a boiled leather helmet that was used […]

The First Streets and Shops of Rouyn in 1926

This is an aerial photograph of the Rouyn mining community taken in the summer of 1926. On it is written the street layout of several important streets and […]

Montbeillard Village, Located Near Rouyn-Noranda

While Rouyn and Noranda were built alongside mining developments, many cities in close proximity, such as Montbeillard, grew as a result of agriculture and logging camps.

A Prospecting Device

A prospector, whose name is unknown, uses a device to find buried ores in the soil. Unfortunately, this method does not work for gold: one has to dig […]

Jos Dumulon’s General Store in Rouyn

This general store is one of Rouyn township’s first buildings. The boardwalk allows easy access to the store. The boomtown-styled front—reminiscent of the California Gold Rush and the Klondike […]

En-d’ssour by Rémi Jodouin

In his autobiography En-d’ssour, Rémi Jodouin, then aged 61, goes into detail on the daily lives of Abitibi mine workers.

The Anthropologist Sylvain Beaupré

Sylvain Beaupré is an anthropologist who specializes in education and employment. His book Des risques, des mines et des hommes, La perception du risque chez les mineurs de […]

Two Minors in the Depths of the Earth

Noranda, 1936. Two miners using mechanical drills in a Horne mine roadway.

The Horne Smelter in the 1950s

This photo was taken from the Horne mine’s parking lot and smelter in the early 1950s. As you can see, a new chimney is being built.

The Quemont Mine

The Quemont mine, located near the Horne mine, operated from 1949 to 1971. It produced copper and also extracted zinc, gold and silver. On average, 600 workers were […]