Our history

L’HISTOIRE VÉRIDIQUE ET SURPRENANTE DE VAL-JALBERT

Le village a été créé en 1901 pour abriter le moulin à pâte et les personnes qui y travaillaient, ainsi que leurs familles.

On appelle ce type de village, un « village de compagnie » car c’était une compagnie qui était propriétaire du site et des bâtiments. Lorsqu’elle ferma ses portes en 1927, ses habitants ont déserté les lieux.

La naissance d’un site au fort potentiel pour installer un moulin à pulpe ─ 1901-1903

À la fondation de la Compagnie de pulpe Ouiatchouan en 1901, le père du projet, Damase Jalbert, entreprend la construction d’une usine ─ un moulin ─ qui entrera en production un an et demi plus tard.

Moulin à pulpe ─ 1901-1903

À la fin du XIXe siècle, le secteur des pâtes et papier connaît une croissance fulgurante notamment aux États-Unis et en Europe. C’est dans ce contexte de forte demande pour le papier que Damase Jalbert*1 entreprend la construction d’une pulperie située sur la rivière Ouiatchouan*2, au pied de la chute, près de Chambord dans le Canton Charlevoix au Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. Afin de répondre à la demande américaine et européenne et sentant l’immense potentiel forestier de la région, Damase Jalbert, après avoir réuni la somme de 15 000$ auprès d’investisseurs convaincus, achète un terrain au nom des fiduciaires de la compagnie de pulpe de Ouiatchouan afin de réaliser le futur projet. La nouvelle compagnie est incorporée le April 27, 1901.

Sur ce terrain, il y a déjà une maison, un moulin à farine et de la machinerie. Dès 1901, les travaux de construction de la nouvelle usine et du futur village sont mis en branle. Une cinquantaine d’ouvriers s’affairent au nivelage du terrain afin d’y implanter une usine de 200 pieds (66 mètres) sur 60 pieds (20 mètres). Une voie ferrée d’un mille de long est aménagée afin de relier la pulperie du pied de la chute vers le village de Chambord. Un barrage de 28 pieds (9 mètres) de haut, de même qu’un mur de pierre de 370 pieds (120 mètres) de long sont érigés. Le complexe industriel comprend aussi l’installation d’une dynamo qui fournira plus tard l’électricité au village de même qu’une scierie. Dix-huit mois plus tard, l’usine débute ses opérations et, durant le premier hiver (1902-1903), celle-ci fonctionne rondement. Les employés s’affairent à la production de pâte de bois mécanique*3.

Afin d’accommoder les employés, une première zone d’habitations est construite sur la rue Saint-Georges dès 1901. Le nouveau village porte le nom de Ouiatchouan. Quatre maisons doubles (trois pour les employés et une pour le contremaître), une maison de pension et un petit hôtel constituent les premiers bâtiments du nouveau village. La maison du contremaître et une maison double d’ouvriers existent encore aujourd’hui, de même que les vestiges de la chapelle inaugurée en 1903. Décédé le March 31, 1904, Damase Jalbert est considéré comme le père fondateur du village-usine qui portera plus tard son nom.

*1-Damase Jalbert : Né en 1842, Damase Jalbert est originaire de Cap-Saint-Ignace dans le comté de Montmagny. C’est d’abord comme navigateur à bord de vaisseaux qui transportent du bois qu’il commence sa carrière. Après un court séjour aux États-Unis puis à Kamouraska comme commerçant, il s’établira au Lac-Saint-Jean à St-Jérome-de-Métabetchouan pour y exploiter une fromagerie. Il œuvrera par la suite dans le domaine du bois en achetant une concession forestière au lac des Commissaires puis une petite scierie au lac Ouiatchouan , près du lac Bouchette. Le commerce du bois étant très prospère à cette époque, il entreprendra la construction d’une pulperie sur la rivière Ouiatchouan au début du 20e siècle. Damase Jalbert aura 8 enfants.

*2-Ouiatchouan,signification :

En langue crie: WIAW (croche), DJIWAN (courant), WAWIYATJIWAN (courant tournant), WIADJIWAN (cours d’eau claire).

En langue montagnaise: UIATSHOUAN (flots, cascades, rapides à bouillons blancs), OUIATCHOUAN (là où l’on voit la chute).

Réf. : BUREAU PROVINCIAL DU TOURISME. « Sur les routes du Québec ». Ministère de la Voirie, novembre 1929, p. 508-510.

*3-Pâte de bois mécanique : Procédé de fabrication fait à partir de bois et d’eau et nécessitant cinq étapes. En premier, l’écorçage qui consiste à retirer l’écorce des billots à l’aide d’écorceurs. Ensuite, les billots sont broyés à l’aide de meules de grès et réduits en fibres. C’est le défibrage. À cette étape, les fibres sont mélangées avec de l’eau et constituent la pâte. Viennent ensuite le tamisage et la précipitation où la pâte est filtrée dans des réservoirs et entraînée par de forts courants d’eau sur des couvertures de laine très tendues qui ne retiennent que la fine particule de bois. Cette particule sera alors enroulée autour d’un gros cylindre pour ensuite être coupée et  empilée en feuilles. Le procédé se poursuit par le pressage. Les feuilles sont placées sur un treillis métallique puis pressées pour enlever le plus d’eau possible. Finalement séchées, les feuilles sont emballées en paquets prêts pour l’expédition. All that remains is to transport the bales by train to Chicoutimi and then by ship to major cities.

The Early Setbacks of the Val-Jalbert Mill — 1904–1909

After Mr. Jalbert’s death in 1904, American interests acquired the company, which was renamed the “Ouiatchouan Falls Paper Company.” The new owners, seeking to expand their operations into paper production and wishing to continue the founder’s work, expanded the village of “Ouiatchouan Falls” on Saint-Georges Street by adding five new duplexes. However, in 1907, the American company also began to experience serious financial problems. These were due to debts accumulated to maintain production as well as to the cost of the new construction. These problems threatened the company with bankruptcy. It was then that Mr.Julien-Édouard-Alfred Dubuc*1, managing director of the Chicoutimi Pulp Company, nicknamed “the pulp king.” On behalf of the Chicoutimi Pulp Company, he acquired an initial block of shares in the Ouiatchouan Falls Paper Company, of which he was the general manager, and in 1907 became the general manager of the Ouiatchouan pulp mill. In 1909, the Chicoutimi Pulp Company acquired a majority of the shares, and the acquisition of the remaining shares continued until 1914.

Upon his arrival in 1907, Mr. Dubuc wanted to double the pulp mill’s production capacity and also hoped to begin construction of a large-capacity paper mill, but this latter project never came to fruition. From 1907 to 1909, he expanded the village further by adding a hotel (boarding house) and two more duplexes, as well as the water system and sewer system.

*1- Julien-Édouard-Alfred Dubuc:
The eldest son of J.A. Dubuc, a merchant from Sherbrooke, J.E.A. Dubuc was born on January 21, 1871 in Saint-Hugues, in Bagot County. After completing his business studies in Sherbrooke, he worked for the Canadian National Bank in that city until 1892, then established the bank’s first branch in Chicoutimi. In 1897, he joined the Chicoutimi Pulp Company as general manager. He spent 25 years working in the pulp industry in the Saguenay region. He oversaw numerous projects, such as the construction of the Roberval-Saguenay Railroad, the founding of the Ha! Ha! Sulphite Company in Port-Alfred, and the acquisition of the Val-Jalbert mill by the Chicoutimi Pulp Company. He also acquired a chemical pulp mill in Chandler. In 1923, he resigned from the executive committee of the Saguenay Pulp and Hydroelectric Company and subsequently left for London, England, to work as a consultant for Becker and Company, his business partner in the Port-Alfred pulp mill. When the Becker Company went bankrupt, it took the Port-Alfred mills and the Chandler mill down with it. After his return, he began a political career as an independent Liberal member of Parliament for the federal riding of Chicoutimi, and later became mayor of Chicoutimi. He died at the age of 76 on October 27, 1947. He had 15 children, five of whom survived him. He was married to Anne-Marie Palardy.

The Golden Age of the Mill and the Village of Val-Jalbert — 1909–1924

The expansion of the “Moulin Saint-Georges” pulp mill: To increase its production capacity, the Chicoutimi Pulp Company (CPC) undertook various expansion projects beginning in 1910, including the construction of a stone millhouse designed to house three large turbines. Next, a stone-and-cement annex with a reinforced concrete floor was added to house machines, hydraulic presses, pumps, and screens. Four years later, on the west side of the mill, a room for manual debarkers and the digester was built. Then, in 1916 et 1917, the original wooden section of the mill was clad in stone. Some remnants of this equipment and machinery still exist in the mill today.

Urban development: In parallel with the plant’s expansion work,the village*1, owned by the CPC, would adopt an urban plan led by Mr. Dubuc, a model of its kind for the surrounding villages. On the east side of Saint-Georges Street, new houses began to appear, and barracks were built along the river to house new workers. In 1910, the first church and rectory were built on the west side of Saint-Georges Street. It was consecrated in 1911 with the arrival of the first parish priest, Father Joseph-Edmond Tremblay. The second street, Saint-Joseph Street, was established shortly before 1913, along with more semi-detached houses. Three other streets were opened in 1915 (Sainte-Anne, Dubuc, and Tremblay). That same year, a school board was established, along with a convent school. Development of the working-class neighborhood on the plateau began in 1917 to provide housing for workers and continued until 1919. Another street (Labrecque) was added to the neighborhood, featuring ten houses with concrete foundations. Finally, to complete the residential development of Val-Jalbert, ten morehouses*2 double were built by the CPC in 1923–1924. In all, 40 inhabited houses were built in the village of Val-Jalbert.

Daily life for the village residents:  Under Mr. Dubuc, the village was equipped with public fountains and wooden sidewalks. The tree-lined main street was paved with macadam. Every street in the village has street lighting, making the village a model of modernity in a traditionally rural setting. Every family has running water, sewer service, and electricity, and heats their homes with wood-burning stoves using wood scraps from the factory. The day begins very early with the housewife milking the cows; then the husband starts his shift at 7:00 AM, and the children must be at school by 8:00 AM. All shopping is done at the general store (at the Val-Jalbert Hotel) on Saint-Georges Street. The butcher shop is located right next door, and the post office is across the street. Women had few social contacts, while men enjoyed more sports and recreational activities. For medical care, people had to travel by train or car to Roberval. The 1918 Spanish flu epidemic claimed 14 lives, including pregnant women and children.

Life at the mill: Work at the mill is divided into three shifts, six days a week. The mill is damp and noisy. Teams of employees rotate through all shifts across various sections: at the grinding wheels, the screens, the machines, maintenance, lubrication, cleaning, etc. A foreman supervises the employees. Some of them work on logging sites in the winter preparing the wood that will be turned into pulp during the summer.Employee wages*3 as are working conditions, are considered the best in the region. The employees unionized in 1913 by joining the Fédération Ouvrière Mutuelle du Nord (FOMN), a Catholic union.

*1-The village: Founded at the same time as the pulp mill in 1901, the village was known as Ouiatchouan until 1913, when its name was changed in 1909 to Val-Jalbert. It became a parish in 1910 under the patronage of Saint George, with 40 inhabited houses at the time. It became a municipality in 1915. The first mayor, serving from 1918 to 1921, was Mr. Wellie Fortin. In 1914, the village had a population of 550; in 1920, 600; and in 1926, 950. Then, in 1931, the village’s population had dwindled to just 50. Trivia: In 1919, the Val-Jalbert Hotel burned down but was immediately rebuilt. In December 1923, the village faced the threat of a major flood. Father Tremblay walked along the river carrying a statue of the Virgin Mary. The water stopped rising.

*2-Houses from 1919: On a frame of spruce studs, tongue-and-groove boards were installed on the exterior at an angle to the vertical, followed by a layer of asphalt-coated paper, and finally cedar shingles. In later constructions, the cedar shingles were replaced by clapboard. Toward the interior, there are first tongue-and-groove boards placed horizontally, followed by a finish of thick waxed cardboard.”

Ref.: “Estimate and description of the work to be performed and materials to be supplied for the construction of ten houses to be built in Val-Jalbert” (A.N.Q.C., Mgr. Victor Tremblay Collection, file 756.5); PICARD, François. Val-Jalbert, an Open-Air Museum: Analysis of the Site’s Archaeological and Ethnographic Potential. June 15, 1982, 29 pages (Val-Jalbert Documentation Center, file #172).

*3-Average employee salaries (between 1915 et 1925):

For a 60-hour workweek:
Table saw: between $17.00 and $18.30
Wood storage room: between $17.70 and $21.25
Mill: between $16.40 and $20.20
Repair: between $20.00 and $21.85
Workshop: between $20.40 and $23.00

Ref.: “Wage Scales at the Saint-Georges Plant, 1915–1925” November 7, 1925 (A.N.Q.C., Mgr. Victor Tremblay Collection, File 756.3)