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Aerial View of Rouyn Township in the Mid-1920s

Black-and-white photograph, taken from a plane, of Rouyn and Noranda in their early days. A lake is in the middle of the photo. It is hard to see details from this height, but you can still see that the city of Rouyn is more populated than its neighbour Noranda.

Date: between 1926 and 1927

Credits: BAnQ Rouyn-Noranda, Société d’histoire de Rouyn-Noranda funds, various sponsors. 08Y,P117,S2,P1969.

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 Lake, but the city extended to Édouard Lake (at the top) over time. Only a few streets can be seen clearly (Principale Street, Perrault Street and Galipeau Street [now known as Larivière Street]) and the buildings are pretty much misaligned.

At the bottom, north of the lake, you can see the site of the soon-to-be city of Noranda. The streets are straight and well outlined, but very few buildings were built in the Noranda company’s city. In fact, most buildings that you see are in the first camp set up by the Horne mine, located on the shores of Osisko Lake.