Le Chenail - The Snye
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Loonwatcher
N 45° 36.888 W 074° 36.083
18T E 531079 N 5051327
A commemorative plaque for a once striving community expropriated in 1961 to make way for a hydroelectric dam. Un monument érigé en l'honneur des familles expropriées en 1961 pour la construction du barrage hydroélectrique de Carillon.
Waymark Code: WMNJ2E
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 03/21/2015
Views: 18
The narrow channel was called Chenail Ecarté (lost channel) by French-Canadian settlers, a name corrupted by the English to Snye Carty. The place eventually became known as The Snye.
A sawmill was built on the island at the end of the 17th century, but its true expansion was under the ownership of the Hamilton brothers. The Outaouais River was an important thruway for the lumber industry, and the mill on l'Île du Chenail grew to become of the most important in Canada. The lumber was exported to Liverpool.
The economic depression of the 30's was a hard blow to the lumber industry. The construction of the Carillon Dam further east on the river certainly sealed this community's fate. Because of the idundation of the island, the 50 or so families living on the island were expropriated and their homes destroyed.
La maison de l’île du Chenail was built circa 1810 the Hamilton brothers, who established the administrative office for their sawmill there. This building also housed a bank (vault still exists today), an infirmary, a general store and a post office. Historically, this site was the development centre of the Town, making its value even greater. Standing on the only piece of the Chenail Island left, the building is the last remnant of what was the most important Canadian sawmill in the 1870s.
The building was designated a historic monument by the Hawkesbury Town Council in 1995. Today, this oldest building in the town is home to Le Chenail Cultural Centre .
Subject: Town
Commemoration: The plaque commemorates the families that were expropriated in 1961 due to the construction of the Carillon Hydro electric dam.
Date of Founding: 1802
Date of Commemoration: August 2009
Address:
2 John Street Hawkesbury, Ontario
Overview Photograph:
Yes
Detail Photograph:
Yes
Web site if available: Not listed
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