COBALT SILVER MINING CAMP TRAIN DEPOT LIGHTHOUSE ONTARIO CANADA POSTCARD c. 1910

COBALT SILVER MINING CAMP TRAIN DEPOT LIGHTHOUSE ONTARIO CANADA POSTCARD c. 1910Attractive and historic postcard showing scenic and train depot view. Caption at left reads, 'With Kindest Regards from Cobalt, the World's Greatest Silver Mining Camp.' According to Wikipedia:Silver Centre is a ghost town in Timiskaming District , Northeastern Ontario , Canada , situated in South Lorrain Township. It is located approximately 35 km (22 mi) south of North Cobalt , and 3 km (1.9 mi) west of Highway 567 . Silver Centre was a secondary camp to the great silver fields of Cobalt, discovered in 1903. There are no current residents in Silver Centre. It is still an active mineral field and does at times have active mineral exploration.The first discovery of silver in the area was made in the 1874 by a lumberman named Pat Manion. He blazed a stump as a witness or discovery tree and showed his sample to his fellow workers at the bunkhouse; everybody believed the sample to be common lead, and Manion agreed. A decade later while discussing his find to a young geologist, Manion quite surprised, discovered that the sample was nearly pure silver. Manion returned to the Ryan Timber Limit where he searched in vain for the location, but was unsuccessful in his attempt. The story of Manion's lost silver mine became legendary throughout the Gatineau-Ottawa region. In August 1903 silver was quickly discovered near the railway bed during the construction of the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway. The discovery made at Long Lake, 103 mi (166 km) north of North Bay, was spectacular. And within one year a silver rush occurred and subsequently the town of Cobalt was established to cater to the world's greatest silver region.A young Robert Jowsey who grew up with the story of Manion's lost silver mine, obtained a crude map from William Purcell, another lumberman who worked with Manion in the Ryan Timber Limit. In 1907, Jowsey, prompted by the stories of the rich silver strikes of Cobalt arrived at Haileybury and quickly teemed up with two seasoned prospectors by the names of James Wood and Charlie Keeley. The three men arrive in South Lorrain Twp where a number of prospectors are already on the scene. In October, James wood discovered a small piece of float which contained some visible silver. An assay test was made which disclosed over 11,000 oz (310,000 g) of silver per ton. The sample also disclosed cobalt, an associated but well sought after mineral. A few months later Manion's discovery post was found by Woods.Prospectors, promoters and mining men filled the region by 1908, and over 1500 men were in region looking for silver. The following year three mines were in production; Keeley , Bellellen and Wettlaufer. In 1908 the government of Ontario stepped in to allieviate the difficulties involved with mining development. On the shores of Lake Timiskaming, at a location formerly known as Sullivan's Landing, 8 km (5.0 mi) east of the camp, the authorities laid out a town site, erected a 200 ft (61 m) wharf and built a tote road to the camp.By 1909, three active mines are in Production the Keeley, Bellellen and the Wettlaufer mines. At the lakeside town site a dozen business establish themselves to cater to the boom. The Temiskaming Navigation company assumes steamship service, while the site counts a general store, a school, a restaurant, a hardware store, a few cartage and freighting companies and other entreprises. Just south of the government town site a small mining company who failed to find silver on their lakeside claim subdivided a portion of their land into a town site as well and sold housing lots. At the camp, a branch of the Farmers Bank, a financier of the Keely Mine, was established.In 1910 activity was waning in the district as no additional discoveries of silver were made. Of the three operating mines only one, the Wettlaufer, proved feasible. In 1911 the Keeley Mine suspended operations after the Farmers Bank collapsed, shortly after the Bellellen also closed down followed by the Wettl... read more