The forest industry played an instrumental role in the making of Hearst.
For more than 90 years, families from across Ontario and Quebec made their way to the small northeastern community of 5,800 and contributed to its rich history.
Several generations of residents were present for the unofficial opening of the Heritage Sawmill Marketplace in Hearst, July 28.
The new $1.3-million museum showcases precisely what it was like to be in a sawmill all those years ago.
“This is where we come from,” said Roger Sigouin, mayor of Hearst. “This is what it’s really about, forestry.”
The interior of the building, the exact replica of an old sawmill, features a picture gallery of leading community and business leaders in the area.
In the centre of the museum, antique equipment dating back to the 1940s has been set up.
“Imagine how people were really smart back then, because they didn’t need engineers to build anything,” said Sigouin. “When you start to look at the detail on everything, it’s just really amazing.”
The old rusted and worn down parts of what was actually used machinery in years past is an enormous part of the display. Guided tours are available.
Sigouin said that in the early '40s, the majority of the families had their own little sawmills, were was used to help build the community.
“The museum is going to stay like this, but a lot more artifacts are going to come in,” he said. “That’s why we opened early, for our people in the town.”
The museum's official opening is set for Sept. 16.
Sigouin hopes that opening early for the locals inspires them to look for more artifacts, pictures or stories.
“People have a lot of stuff at home,” he said. “We want them to bring it to the museum and we want to show it to everyone.”
The idea to build a museum dedicated to the town's sawmilling heritage began in 2004 when Sigouin and the community’s chief administrative officer, Claude Laflamme, began talking about a substantial project to showcase the area’s heritage.
“We wanted to create some kind of synergy between Highway 11 and the downtown area,” said Laflamme, “and have them merged together.”
Laflamme worked at a sawmill as a student years ago and thought it would be a great idea to honour the industry.
Standing along the wall in the museum looking at an old photograph of himself as a child, along with his father and grandfather, was Rene Fontaine.
His grandfather came to Hearst in the mid-1920s and started his own forestry business years later.
Together with his brother-in-law, he bought a part of the business from his father in 1958.
A recession in 1990 forced Fortaine to make the very difficult decision to sell to Tembec.
“When I look at all these pictures, it was just a lot of fun,” he said. “It was cold during those winters, with a lot of snow.
“It was hard but we enjoyed it.”
The project was funded by both the provincial and federal governments, along with the Town of Hearst.
Imperial Oil leased the land to the town for the project that was initially trees and a parking lot.
