Conclusion

Colour photograph of an asphalt road with some residences on either side. A two-storey white house on the left and two residences on the right. The sky is cloudy.

Roc-d’Or in Fall 2019 (Société d’histoire de Malartic).

Between 1943 and 1948, 156 buildings were transported to Malartic. Demolition was the fate of 107 others. Finally, the last squatter left Roc-d’Or for Malartic on October 20, 1947. Yet several buildings remained: a sawmill, a chicken coop, a shed full of drill cores, and a modern house. In October 1948, willow trees sprang up on each side of the road to hide these last remaining structures.

Sepia photograph of a beautiful two-storey residence. There are many windows in the front and a veranda on the right. A small balcony upstairs. In the background, a stable and a garage.

The only residence to survive the razing of Roc-d’Or in 1942 (BAnQ Québec, ministère de la Culture et des Communications fonds).

Despite its nickname “Putainville”, Roc-d’Or was not just an anarchic encampment with prostitutes and unmarried miners. In reality, the village was much like the villages of Val-d´Or and Rouyn in their early days. The real reasons behind the destruction of Roc-d’Or were poverty, the opposition to the people of Malartic, and the Government’s desire to eradicate squatting.

Carole St-Jarre shares her thoughts about Roc-d´Or’s legacy:

Listen to the interview with transcript.

Except for one house, all signs of Roc-d’Or have disappeared. In the early 1950s, several new houses were built over part of the ancient squatter village. Now, history alone bears witness to the existence of the settlement once called “Putainville”.

Black and white photograph of a building covered with tar paper, part of which is torn off. Four windows, two on the right side and two in front, are visible. A log cabin with a Boomtown façade on the left.

Amphi Gold mine drill core shed in 1942 (BAnQ Québec, ministère de la Culture et des Communications fonds).

The End of Roc-d’Or Credits and Acknowledgements