The region surrounding the cities of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield
and Beauharnois attests to an industrial and social history worthy
of note. Mainly an agricultural region, this area quickly became
a classic example of the societal changes in the working-class
brought about by the industrial era.
Come along! Sail through
a history that is indelibly inscribed in the development of Quebec
and Canada.
A Rapid Conquest! • Ships
Sail by, Industries Stay • Industrialization
Flows with the Current
Pick and Shovel, by Sweat and Blood • A
Giant Stretches across Our Land • A State-of-the-Art
Canal
The Water Is Flowing, the Cotton Is Spinning • Water,
Life, Fun
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Construction of the first Beauharnois
Canal, Victoria Street, circa 1842, Gérald
Sullivan Collection, The Museum Corporation |
A RAPID CONQUEST! (top of the
page)
From the very beginnings of the colony, the rapids along the
Saint-Lawrence have made navigation difficult, this river being
the main communication and trade route to the interior of the
country.
Before long, rudimentary methods of crossing the natural barriers
are organized. Firstly, the shoreline is developed to facilitate
a portage. Then, in the 17th century, several water channels
are built. These small canals, less than one metre deep, allow
the rapids to be bypassed by towing a boat with rope cables.
In this way, the systematic loading and unloading of goods is
avoided.
The canal at Coteau-du-Lac, completed in 1781, boasts the first
locks in North America. It is subsequently reinforced as a military
site during the war of 1812-1814 when England enters a conflict
with the United States.
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Construction of the first Beauharnois
Canal by Irish workers, circa 1843, Gérald Sullivan Collection,
The Museum Corporation |
SHIPS SAIL BY, INDUSTRIES STAY (top
of the page)
After having contributed to the defence of the territory, the
canals become, in the 19th century, the main thoroughfare for
the economic and industrial development of Quebec.
The network of canals along the Saint-Lawrence River facilitates
travel between Europe, Canada, and the United States and furthers
the evolution of hydroelectric power. These two factors attract
industries to the vicinity of this valuable resource. The Lachine
Canal is the first of several large canals built on the Saint-Lawrence.
In the 19th century, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is a prime candidate
for industrialization: the city has both a navigable waterway
and the potential for hydroelectric power. Indeed, the first
Beauharnois Canal runs through the centre of the city and the
Saint-Charles River offers a viable power source.
INDUSTRIALIZATION FLOWS WITH THE CURRENT (top
of the page)
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The Kilgour Factory, in operation
from 1863 to 1977, Historical Society of Beauharnois |
The industrialization of Beauharnois begins quietly in the 19th
century with the establishment of Kilgour, a furniture factory.
Then, in 1912, Mr. Howard Smith sets up a pulp mill. However,
it is the construction of an immense hydroelectric central that
launches the economic growth of Beauharnois. In fact, access
to an abundant and cheap source of electricity draws several
energy-consuming industries within close proximity of the central,
one of which is Alcan, in 1943.
A canal is excavated to bring water to the central. The government
accords its approval of this gigantic undertaking on the condition
that, in time, the waterway may also be used for navigation.
In 1863, a handcrafted-furniture factory sets up business in
Beauharnois. Kilgour will give employment to hundreds of people
until its closing in 1977.
Begun in 1929, the first of three sections of the Beauharnois
hydroelectric plant is put into operation in 1931. Enlargement
of the complex continues until 1961. At this time, it is considered
to be the most powerful of its kind in Canada.
The architecture of the central, its art deco style, is astonishingly
elegant. Today, it is designated a national historic site.
BY PICK AND SHOVEL, BY SWEAT AND BLOOD (top of the page)
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The bridge-canal called the Saint-Pierre Aqueduct,
circa 1950, Historical Society of Beauharnois |
In the 19th century, it is of utmost importance for the commercial
development of Canada to build a canal that will bypass the rapids
between Lake Saint-Louis and Lake Saint-Francis. Thus, from 1842
to 1845, the first Beauharnois Canal is constructed. Opening
in 1845, the waterway is closed to boat traffic in 1907.
The workers lay down rails on which, with the help of horses
and wagons, the ground can be hauled away from the worksite.
The labour is accomplished by thousands of men using picks and
shovels, most of whom are Irish immigrants. The worksite extends
over 18 kilometres.
The labourers work long hours at a meagre wage. In 1843, when
the government awards responsibility of the worksite to private
contractors, conditions worsen. On the 12th of June, more than
2000 workers gather at Hotel Grant in Saint-Timothée to
demand better working conditions. British soldiers open fire,
killing and wounding several men.
Located in Saint-Timothée, the bridge-canal is a significant
vestige of the first Beauharnois Canal. Also called the Saint-Pierre
Aqueduct, it allowed farmers to pass underneath the canal to
reach their fields.
A GIANT STRETCHES ACROSS OUR
LAND (top of the page)
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Construction of the Beauharnois hydroelectric complex,
1931, Hydro-Quebec Collection, The Museum Corporation |
Under construction from 1929 to 1932, the second Beauharnois
Canal acts as a feeder channel for the hydroelectric central
at Beauharnois but it is designed for navigation as well. Thus,
the sections that straddle the canal can be easily replaced by
lift bridges when the Seaway is built. Two locks allow a ship
to bypass the electric plant and to overcome the twenty-five-metre
difference in altitude between Lake Saint-Francis and Lake Saint-Louis.
Twenty-four kilometres long by one kilometre wide, the second
Beauharnois Canal has been an integral part of the Saint-Lawrence
Seaway since its inauguration in 1959.
During the project, many hectares of agricultural land as well
as properties bordering Lake Saint-Francis will be forfeited
to flooding. Furthermore, those villages situated south of the
canal will find themselves cut off from the commercial heartland
of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
The construction of the second Beauharnois Canal is an undertaking
of titanic proportions that is often compared to the building
of the Panama Canal, which links the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific
in Central America.
A STATE-OF-THE-ART CANAL (top
of the page)
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Aerial view of the Valleyfield Port, 2004,
Corporation of the Valleyfield Port |
The swift opening of the lock gates, the filling of the channels
with minimal water turbulence, the electrical operation of the
swing bridges and the spillways, the lighting along the canal,
etc.—these innovative technologies are a vital reality
of the Soulanges Canal at its opening in 1899.
Several decades later, however, it is not up to par with the
advancing technology of the maritime world and the ever-increasing
tonnage of seafaring vessels. Autumn of 1958 saw the last ships
sail the straits of the Soulanges Canal.
At the time of its closing, some 130 employees worked for the
Canal, among whom were lock keepers, bridge hands, electricians,
mechanics, blacksmiths, carpenters, underwater divers, painters,
and office workers. In addition, several others held jobs as
captains, pilots, and boatmen on the ships that sailed the waters
of the Saint-Lawrence.
The Soulanges Canal replaces the first Beauharnois Canal, outdated
by the end of the 19th century. Twenty-four kilometres long and
comprising five locks, the waterway follows the north shore of
the Saint-Lawrence, thus bypassing the rapids between Lake Saint-Louis
and Lake Saint-Francis.
A hydroelectric central is built in 1899 to ensure the electricity
requirements of the canal. As a result, it is the first canal
in the world to have its entire passageway lit by night. Thus,
boat traffic is able to circulate 24 hours a day.
THE WATER IS FLOWING, THE COTTON IS SPINNING (top
of the page)
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Strike at the Montreal Cotton Company, 1946,
Madeleine Parent and Kent Rowley Collection, The Museum
Corporation |
The first industries in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield operate on
hydraulic power. The first papermill is built in 1853 by Mr.
Miller. The Valleyfield Paper Mills will give its name to the
city. During the same era, several other factories install themselves
along the banks of the Saint-Charles River—sawmills, flourmills,
and thrashing mills.
In point of fact, however, it is the establishment of the textile
manufacturer Montreal Cotton Company, in 1874, that transforms
the city into a nerve centre of industrial activity in Quebec.
While the Quebec textile industry employs close to 7,000 persons,
the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield plant accounts for 2,500 of those
workers. Montreal Cotton's production capacity and labour force
are the largest in Canada for a period of almost sixty years,
i.e. from 1890 to 1950.
The first Beauharnois Canal plays a dominant role in the development
of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. It is as much a part of the daily
life of a citizen as it is a crucial player in the industrial
arena. In this era, steamboats sail right through the centre
of the city.
Confronted with long hours at low wages and poor working conditions,
close to 3,000 textile workers will launch a strike on June 1st,
1946. Headed by Madeleine Parent and Kent Rowley, the strikers
succeed, after a period of 96 days, to assert their rights as
a union and to negotiate a contract with the company directors.
Certain incidents in this strike are seen as forerunners to the
Quiet Revolution.
WATER, LIFE, FUN (top
of the page)
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Regatta on Saint-Francis Bay, circa 1940,
Collection of The Museum Corporation |
Several large industries settle in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield
during the 1960's. They have the benefit of direct access to
the Saint-Lawrence Seaway, open in 1959. Canadian Electrolyc
Zinc is founded in 1963 and Goodyear is brought into being in
1965. This same year, the Valleyfield Port welcomes its first
ocean liner.
Water has a vital presence in the life of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield
and it citizens, the 'Campivalensiens.' Since the early days,
they have known how to champion the merits of this priceless
resource with water-based activities. Every summer, beginning
in 1938, the city has hosted a much-anticipated regatta. In 1998,
on the occasion of the 60th International Valleyfield Regatta,
100,000 spectators watch the speedboat races in a celebratory
atmosphere.
For years, the buildings and the tall smokestack of the Montreal
Cotton Company have kept watch over the aquatic activities in
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. In 1967, at the time of the World's
Fair and the centenary of Canadian confederation, as well as
during the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976, the city organizes
world regattas that are endorsed by various internationally-renowned
nautical associations.
The history of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and the
surrounding region is directly connected to the industrialization
of Quebec. With the excavation of the Beauharnois Canal and the
beginnings of a dynamic industrial sector, the installation of
the Montreal Cotton Company in 1875 brings a second economical
wind to Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. In 1946, even before the Asbestos
incident, Montreal Cotton experienced a strike that was decisive
in the recognition of the power of unions. For the first time
in Quebec, ordinary citizens took to the streets in spite of
clear opposition from the clergy. Several theorists have speculated
that this incident was at the roots of the Quiet Revolution.
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