I am always intrigued when I come across an old photo or postcard of a street scene or building(s) in a town. This is especially true for any of the early communities in Northern Ontario. Cobalt, with its fascinating history, provides us with thousands of such old photos of various locations in the Silver Camp. A visit to the Cobalt Mining Museum is a must for those wanting to see and relive its past through the lens of the many early photographers who came north to capture its history.
For me, I particularly like to compare vintage photos to the present location, be it buildings along a street, a group of people, or an old mine site. It is often quite amazing how things have completely changed in those 100+ years and is some cases, almost unrecognizable today.
What is even more challenging is when you come across an old photo that you’ve never seen before and cannot quite fit the original to its present day location. That challenge often requires a little more extensive research, and sometimes requiring pulling together groups of photos to try to nail down its original location. Failing that, there are always a number of history buffs who will, in short order, come to your assistance to try to solve this puzzle. Local historical Face book groups, and of course our own Cobalt Historical Society history buffs, are but two such avenues to seek help. There are always many in those groups ready to offer their assistance and expertise.
In terms of Cobalt, I have put together five ‘Now and Then’ photos to look at. With the help of Google Earth, modern street views are easily screen-captured to use for the comparison. If not Google Earth, the internet is full of modern day Cobalt photos that folks have uploaded in recent years . As a last resort, you can make a visit to the specific location yourself to snap a photo.
Photo#1 – Argentite Street from ‘The Square’
This photo looking down Argentite St. towards the arena is a classic case where, except the road, virtually nothing compares from the original photo to the modern. Even the mighty Coniagas, which a century ago, dominated the landscape is this part of town, is now shrouded in bush. For me it is the signage on the buildings of those original businesses that ran along this street, that is so interesting. Despite the condition of the road, which was quite typical of those in Cobalt, a closer inspection of the signage gives you a sense of the types of businesses running down Argentite at the time. These included a theatre, laundry, general merchants, pool room, and a handful of boarding houses.
Photo#2 – ‘The Square’ – Sir Wilfred Laurier Visit on September 18, 1912
Again, these photos of ‘The Square’ are not that different in that in both cases, the Imperial Bank, later the Bank of Commerce, occupied the same location since the early beginnings of the town. Yes, the overhead ore bucket support towers are long gone but the general flow of Lang Street northward from this location is the same. What is awe inspiring is the sheer volume of people who came out that day on Laurier’s visit on September 18, 1912. I’ve often thought to myself, driving thru Cobalt, and specifically at this location, what it would feel like to see such huge numbers like this jammed in the Square. I know Cobalt has had a number of large events over the years including Diamond Jubilees, Miner’s Festival Parades, and its Centennial, which have all seen huge crowds hugging along Lang Street, but I don’t think, at least in my lifetime, I’ll ever see ‘The Square’ buzzing with so much activity as it did on that special day in 1912.Im
Photo#3 – Red Cross Hospital at Present-Day Location – 2 Silver Street.
This photo, just up the hill from the present day town office and post office, is located on one of the many twists and turns throughout the community. Today, a vacant lot, adjacent to the former Buffam Funeral Home building, was the location of the Red Cross Hospital. The history of the medical services in Cobalt, including this hospital , is best captured in our Cobalt Historical Society September 2023 newsletter article about Nurse Annie Saunders, recent recipient of the Order of the North Award. https://cobalthistoricalsociety.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-09-CHS.pdf
Photo#4 – The Right of Way Mine
The Right of Way Head frame is probably one of the best identical ‘Now and Then’ photos of a Cobalt landmark spanning a near 120-year period. Even every window is exact today to its original construction. Yes, many of the buildings adjacent to the head frame are no longer but this towering structure has weathered the test of time, and in many cases, has come to signify the rich history of the Cobalt Camp. Located just south of the present-day Larose Bridge, the Right of Way was originally owned by the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway as their mandate reserved the mineral rights for 50 feet on both sides of their track. On September 12, 1906, an Ottawa consortium leased this strip of ground from Mileage 101 to 105 for the sum of $50,000 and an annual royalty of 25%. This was the Right of Way Mining Company which eventually produced over 3,000,000 ounces of silver. I invite you to watch this stunning drone footage of today’s Right of Way property. https://youtu.be/zb3xvaCjyiQ?t=9
Photo#5 – The Cobalt Railway Station.
The last of our Now and Then photos is none other than the Cobalt Station. This newer version of the station, officially opened in 1910 by Premier James Pliny Whitney, served as the hub of the community. Until the opening of the Ferguson Highway ( presently Hwy. 11 ), all transportation to and from the Cobalt Camp was either by rail or by steamer on Lake Temiskaming.
The present Station has not changed since that opening day. The grounds surrounding it have gone through various alterations in its long history, including the removal of one of the rail lines, but again, the Cobalt Station stands today as one of the finest along the original Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway system. Since its closing as a railway depot, the station has been home to a number of businesses, but is primarily remembered as the former location of the Bunker Military Museum, owned and operated by long-time Cobalt resident Jim Jones.
Wonderful pictures. Remember it all well. Thanks for putting these out there. 🥰🥰
Glad you liked it, Brenda. Thank you!
Was not the Bank of Commerce on the south side of the square, with the Imperial Bank on the north side?
Hi Bill – thanks for that – I’ve updated the post to clarify the name of the bank between “now and then.”
Thank you for the then and now photos – as a child growing up in Mileage 104, I and my friends explored all these locations and many more.
You are welcome. Thanks for stopping by to read and comment.
Thank you for these pictures, as a teenager in the fifties some of those streets were still pretty busy. It was a great place to grow up in and
explore many more sites.
Glad you liked it, Colleen! thanks for stoppying by to comment.
it’s great to see pictures of my old home town I was born in Kerr Lake in 1942 and use to walk to Cobalt and explore thanks for sharing 1those beautiful pictures
Great images and history. Looking for any info on the Nord(quist) and Lindberg families that were in Cobalt between circa 1915 and 1920…was just in Cobalt and spent a couple of hours exploring around…I will be back …
Great to hear from you, Celia – we are always delighted to hear from someone with connections to Cobalt.
With some careful searching of the newspaper archives, you may be able to find details of your family’s time here – something may have been reported in either the Temiskaming Speaker or the North Bay Nugget. Digital copies of these newspapers are online, but a subscription is required.
The Cobalt Historical Society has access to these records. Since we are a volunteer organization, we ask that you consider a donation or membership to the society. You can find out more on our website –
https://cobalthistoricalsociety.ca/membership/
Do you hava any photos of the family or of the Cobalt area? We are always looking to expand our collection and would welcome digital copies of people or places.
We look forward to hearing from you
Thanks for all your help, sadly most family photos burned in a house fire in 1963 but will see if any exist thru relatives…hoping to sign on to the newspaper service once I feel I have the time to focus on it… probably this winter. Cheers