Community Revitalization at Cobalt, Ontario
Ontario Silver Mining Town Offers Unique Tourist Attractions
Sep 24, 2009
By the 1930s, the mines were virtually finished and abandoned. Most of the prospectors and miners moved on to places like Timmins, Kirkland Lake, and Rouyn-Noranda. Unlike many mining boomtowns, Cobalt continued to be inhabited. It was never a ghost town.
Memories and Renewal of Cobalt
People who continued to live there faced numerous problems, many of which are described in “Silver Mines in Cobalt” . They held memories of ‘firsts’ in their community as well as those of disasters. The official formation of the Ontario Provincial Police occurred in 1909 when lawlessness became a big problem in the mining camp.
During the glory days, the first streetcar system north of Toronto was installed in the area. The Temiskaming Streetcar Line stretched between Cobalt and Haileybury.
The official formation of the Ontario Provincial Police occurred in 1909 when lawlessness became a big problem in the mining camp. They had a hockey team in the N.H.A. which was forerunner of the National Hockey League. There were devastating fires and outbreaks of typhoid and smallpox, and the influenza epidemic of 1918. There was the environmental damage to the entire area.
The people talked of hard-working miners, blacksmiths, and shopkeepers who lived in tarpaper shacks, many with young families. They recalled that wealthy mine owners and speculators built mansions in nearby Haileybury. They knew of the women who struggled to raise their children under difficult conditions while their husbands worked at dangerous jobs. They decided to preserve as much of their heritage as possible. The revitalized town is now a unique tourist destination.
Cobalt Welcome Centre and Exhibits
- Cobalt Welcome Centre is located in the historic railway station that was the starting point for thousands of people. The “Cradle of Canadian Mining Exhibit” is at the centre. Throughout the day, two films are shown in the state-of-the-art theatre. One is an historic film of the 1919 Cobalt Mining Camp operations. The other provides more insight into the area’s amazing history.
- The Bunker Military Museum is also located in the Cobalt train station. It houses a library of more than 2,000 books and articles as well as artifacts dated from the Boer War to today.
- The Mining Museum, a short distance from the station, comprises several galleries. Exhibits include the “world’s largest display of native silver ore”, and samples of rocks and minerals from around the world. Artifacts, photographs, documents, and rare copies of newspapers of the day are among the many displays.
Tours of Historic Sites
Visitors wishing to learn more about the history by exploration can take tours that begin at the museum.
- The Heritage Silver Trail Tour is a self-guided, well-marked driving tour that has explanatory signs posted at each site. Among the features are headframes (framework at the top of a mineshaft that supports the pulleys for the winding mechanism) and pieces of equipment. Visitors learn about adits (nearly horizontal access shafts used for giving access to a mine or for drainage), mill sites, and open stopes (step-shaped excavations).
- The Underground Colonial Adit Tour begins at the museum. Staff members are available to answer visitors’ questions and guide visitors through the entrance to an underground mine and down the narrow tunnels. The unique experience that includes story telling provides real insight into the miners’ working conditions.
- Firefighters Museum, created by former Fire Chief, Leo Arbour, contains more than 1,000 artifacts including vintage and modern equipment.
- Cobalt Walking Tour is a pleasant way to understand more about the town’s history. Residences and mining-related buildings stand side by side. Many businesses’ walls display history-based murals on their outside walls. Among the focal points in town is the Cobalt Classic Theatre that was restored in 1993. It hosts more than 70 events each year including theatre, music, comedy, dance and variety shows.
The Cobalt silver mining district is a National Historic Site of Canada. The designation reflects the importance of the hard rock mining for silver in the area. Many lessons learned there about process and labor practices were carried into new mining sites. The great rush for silver was instrumental in creating and securing financial capital for more Canadian mining development.
Sources:
We Lived a Life and Then Some: The Life, Death, and Life of a Mining Town by Charlie Angus, Brit Griffin, Published by Between The Lines (Toronto) 1996
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