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Stones forming a rectangle before you were part of the foundations of a section of the stable buildings in 19th century North Nation Mills. At the end of the foundation, you will also notice the remains of a well dug at that time. From 1983 to 1987 the municipality of Plaisance and Quebec’s Ministère de la Culture et des Communications undertook archaeological digs on the site of Plaisance Falls. Thousands of artifacts were found as well as the location of the different buildings making up this old workers’ village.
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The North Nation Mills’ general store was a good source of profit for the company that owned this little industrial village. Mill employees were paid in company vouchers and consequently had no choice than to obtain their supplies from the store. It offered fabric, work clothes, shoes and hardware items. Supplies came from Montreal by train to the station at Plaisance and transported to North Nation Mills. In 1867, a post office was established. Mail came by cart, six days per week. The building also housed the People’s Telegraph Company office, used mainly for company business.
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The “Old Saw Mills” was the first mill built at North Nation Mills in 1809, by the Lord Joseph Papineau. The mill was powered by hydraulic energy from the falls. Its location was known as “Côte du moulin de la Seigneurie de la Petite-Nation” (Mill Hill). Two saws were in operation to produce boards, staves, shakes and shingles. Logs processed at the mill came from logging camps along the Petite-Nation River. Boards and planks produced were intended for the local market or shipped to England.
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This photo shows the second sawmill at North Nation Mills. In 1852, Louis-Joseph Papineau decides to sell the mill property and Alanson Cooke becomes the new owner. Encumbered with debt, he is forced, two years later, to transfer ownership to the Allan Gilmour Company. The new owners see to the reconstruction of several buildings in the workers’ village, including construction of the second sawmill, this one being steam powered.
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Jim Allen built the house himself, in 1881, at the river bend. He was employed as manager of all the infrastructure in North Nation Mills at the time. The house attests to the wealth of the family by its great size compared to the workers’ houses, but also because of the water pump in the kitchen, a rarity at the time.
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North Nation Mills’ Baptist School was located near the church on the institutional plateau. It was built in the same year as the church, in 1871
and torn down in 1928. Even if the village had a school, very few French-Canadians had access to schooling and could afford to attend the English school. Consequently the village’s French-Canadian population had little education. Being illiterate, they worked mostly as lumberjacks, log drivers, sawyers, blacksmiths or farmers.
For nearly three decades, Patrimoine et Chutes de Plaisance (Corporation North Nation Mills inc.), a not-for-profit organization, will have managed the historic, recreational and tourism site at Plaisance Falls. Shortly, the site will become an extension of the Parc national de Plaisance who will assume full responsibility for its management.
Along with our partners and sponsors, we are pleased to pass on to the new management this inspiring venue, a heritage circuit comprised of interpretive panels recalling, in their own fashion, the history of the industrial village of North Nation Mills which stood here for a century. We thank the Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs for allowing us to carry out this project.
The heritage circuit at Plaisance Falls offers the opportunity to add a historical dimension to your visit of this majestic site. We wish all visitors a moment of quiet and rewarding relaxation.
Project design : Pierre Bernier
Implementation : Pierre Bernier and
Lysandre Groulx
Graphic design : jldesign.ca
Production : Imprimerie Papineauville
Installation : The Municipality of Plaisance
© 2019, Patrimoine et Chutes de Plaisance
