Val-Jalbertis aghost townin the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region ofQuebec,Canada.It is located 8 km (5 mi) northwest of the town ofChambord.
The village was founded in 1901 and soon saw success in thepulp millcreated byDamase Jalbertat the base of theOuiatchouan Falls.However, the success was fleeting as the abrupt closure of the mill in 1927 led the desertion of the entire village.
It became a park in 1960. With over 70 original abandoned buildings, Val-Jalbert has been described as the best-preserved ghost town in Canada.[1]
Toponymy
editThe village was founded by Damase Jalbert (1842–1904) which in 1901 also created the Ouiatchouan Pulp Company; that same year the village was first named Saint-Georges-de-Ouiatchouan, after the river that runs through it. It was later renamed Val-Jalbert in 1913 by the Chicoutimi Pulp Company in honour of its founder.
History
edit
Company town
editLocated between the borders of the municipalities ofChambordandRoberval,Val-Jalbert was founded in 1901 when Damase Jalbert fromLac-Bouchettebuilt a pulp andpaper millto meet growing demand fornewsprintinBritainandAmerica.The location was ideal since the energy required to operate the machinery could be produced by two waterfalls on the Ouiatchouan river, respectively 72 (236') and 35 metres (115') in height.
Following Jalbert's death in April 1904, the company was bought by American investors. The Ouiatchouan Falls Paper Company laid out the foundations ofurban planningin the new community, with four types of dwellings for workers. The planned community separated workers housing located uptown, from the core business functions, located downhill. The company also built state of the art infrastructure in the remote community, including electricity, sewer, water works and telephone service.[2][3]
The company was sold in 1909 to Julien-Édouard-Alfred Dubuc's Chicoutimi Pulp Company, who continued the planned development of the community.
Almost ten years later, theSpanish fluwreaked havoc among its small population.
Ghost town
editIn 1927, the Quebec Pulp and Paper Mills Ltd., which owned the plant for only a year, ceased all activities due to the lower demand for non-transformed mechanical pulp. Hoping for a reversal of the market, many unemployed workers remained in town until 1929, when the company ordered all homes boarded up. The local priest, Joseph-Edmond Tremblay, and the nuns fromChicoutimiwho came to Val-Jalbert in 1915 to teach in the local school, definitively left the community on September 15, 1929.[3]
The company went bankrupt in 1949 and theQuebec governmentgained title on the land, buildings and the hydraulic forces of the former village.[4]
Tourist attraction
editThe site is first developed opened to the public in the 1960s by the tourism office and was transferred to the parks agencySEPAQwith a view to develop the full potential of the village in 1987.[2]
In 1996, the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications designated the village as a heritage site and classify it as such.[2]The site now falls under the municipality of Chambord.
In the 2000s, the site controlled was transferred to theDomaine-du-Royregional county municipality.The new administration applied and was granted a $17 million subsidy by the Quebec andfederal governmentsin 2009 to overhaul the facilities in order to increase the annual patronage.[5]
The hydroelectric dam project on the Ouiatchouan river
edit
In October 2009, the "Energy Community Society of Lac St-Jean" announced plans to build an 18.3 megawatt hydroelectric plant near the historic mill, and build a dam upstream of the Ouiatchouan falls. The "Bureau of Environmental Public Hearings" (BAPE) heard concerns of the citizens of Roberval and surrounding areas during the months of March and April 2012. 75% of the interventions submitted were against the dam project. On July 13, 2012 the BAPE gave a favourable report to the developer.
The historical village of Val-Jalbert is the second most visited tourist attraction in theLac St-Jeanregion after the zoo of St-Félicien. The majority of tourists go to Val-Jalbert to see its waterfall. The developer intended to provide an aesthetic flow of 7 m3(250 cu ft) per second during daytime operational hours, which is half the average rate at which summer tourists are accustomed to. At night and during the six winter months, the developer offered to ensure a mere ecological flow of 0.3 m3(11 cu ft) per second, which is equivalent to a standard domestic hot water tank.
In September 2012, the Coalition to Safeguard Ouiatchouan Val-Jalbert (CSOV) and the Fondation Rivières challenged the merits of the project, and attempted to preserve the Ouiatchouan River and its falls. On December 5, 2012, the Quebec Council of Ministers adopted the decree authorizing the construction of the hydroelectric station and dam at Val-Jalbert. In early 2013 a survey conducted by an independent firm found that 53% of the population of Lac St-Jean opposed the dam project. On February 5, 2013,Martine Ouellet,Minister of Natural Resources terminated the controversial small hydroelectric dams program with the exception of the Val-Jalbert project, which prompted much dismay among the opposition.[clarification needed]Two days later on February 7, 2013, the Quebec Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment, Wildlife and Parks issued the certificate of authorization which allowed the developer to perform preliminary work.
On February 11, 2013, the start of construction of the power station began with machinery and workers arriving on site. A survey performed by Léger Marketing on February 15/16, 2013 found that 51% of survey respondents opposed the project and 40% supported it.[6]Additionally, 61% of respondents wanted to terminate or suspend construction.[6]
On February 16, theInnuof the Masteuiatsh community were never consulted by referendum and filed a petition signed by nearly a quarter of the population of Masteuiatsh forcing the present Band Council (itself a 45% shareholder in the project) into early elections on May 27, 2013. On April 8, 2013, five members of the Front for the Liberation of Ouiatchouan barricaded themselves inside two sky cabins which serve as a lift for tourists to access the top of the falls. All were arrested by the police the same day.
References
edit- ^Bachusky, Johnnie (Fall 2009)."Into the Void".Canadian Geographic Travel.p. 62.RetrievedDecember 22,2015.
- ^abcQuebec Ministry of Culture and Communications."Village historique de Val-Jalbert".Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec(in French).RetrievedDecember 22,2015.
- ^abGagnon, Gaston (2007)."Val-Jalbert, la valorisation touristique d'un patrimoine du XXe siècle".Encyclopédie du patrimoine culturel de l’Amérique Française(in French).RetrievedDecember 22,2015.
- ^Doyon 1997,p. 417.
- ^Potvin, Louis (February 10, 2009)."La seconde vie de Val-Jalbert".Le Quotidien.Saguenay, Quebec.RetrievedDecember 22,2015.
- ^ab"La mini centrale hydroélectrique de Val-Jalbert"(PDF).Leger Marketing. 20 February 2013.Retrieved25 November2015.
Bibliography
edit- Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (June 28, 2012).Projet de mise en valeur hydroélectrique de la rivière Ouiatchouan au village historique de Val-Jalbert: Rapport d'enquête et d'audiences publiques (N° 289)(PDF)(in French). Quebec City: BAPE.ISBN978-2-550-65126-0.
- Quebec (1997).Commission d'enquête sur la politique d'achat par Hydro-Québec d'électricité auprès de producteurs privés (Commission Doyon): Rapport final(in French). Quebec City: Quebec [Department of the Executive Council].ISBN2-551-17686-7.
- Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (August 30, 1994).Projet d'aménagement hydroélectrique de Val-Jalbert: Rapport d'enquête et d'audiences publiques (N° 82)(PDF)(in French). Quebec City: BAPE.ISBN2-550-29799-7.
External links
edit- Village historique de Val-Jalbert- official site