Cobalt Historical Society Research Resources
Web Resources
- 1919-1920 Vernon’s Directory a listing of Temiskaming District Businesses and Residents.
- Ontario Heritage Act Register Gives lists of properties designated as Heritage sites.
- Heritage Trail on Virtual Museums website
- The Porcupine [Timmins] Advance Newspaper
- Canadiana – Toronto World Newspaper
- Brampton Public Library
- HathiTrust Digital Library
- Cobalt Daily Nugget Newspaper
- Temiskaming Speaker Newspaper – Paper of Record
- Ontario Archives
- Library and Archives Canada
PDF and JPEG Resources
- Silver Cobalt Calcite Vein Deposits of Ontario by Sergiades 1968
- 2019 Heritage Silver Trail Map and 2019 Heritage Silver Trail Guide
- Arthur Gordon Penman, an early mining man in Cobalt. The piece is one of a 51-part series Just Passing Through written by Allan Stacey for the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum & Heritage Centre in Capreol, for which he retains the copyright.
- Francis Clyde Boyle Lendrum 1916-1995 A partial autobiography. The Lendrum family name may be familiar as Francis was born in 1916 to Cobalt Daily Nugget reporter Frank Lendrum and Ellener (née Boyle).
- 1957 Family Herald article about Antonio Giachino.
- Natural Resources Canada and Ontario Geological Survey 2015. Heritage Silver Trail, Cobalt: Road tour of a historic silver mining camp; GeoTours Northern Ontario series
- 1896-1994 List of Mining Fatalities Ontario-wide.
- 1907 Buffalo Mines First Annual Report donated to us by Maurice O’Shaughnessy.
- 1908-10-26 AA Cole to JL Englehart A typed letter dated Oct 26, 1908 to J.L. Englehart, T&NO Railway, from A.A. Cole, Mining Engineer, describing a visit to Elk Lake and Gowganda in which he reports on various claims in those areas. [TR]
- 1908-11-06-AA Cole to JM Turnbull A letter on T&NOR letterhead to a gentleman in Trail, B.C., from A.A. Cole, the Mining Engineer of the railway, dated Nov 6th 1908. In this letter is a description of travelling to Gowganda via Earlton (?) to Elk Lake by road and thence further by canoe. A description is made of the geology and mining claims in the Gowganda area. [TR]
- 1909 Temiskaming Telephone Company Directory in PDF format
- 1911 Cobalt Audit Report – This is a very large file which covers the period of January 1, 1907 ( the date of incorporation ) to July 31, 1911. The document contains several long lists of residents’ and business names, addresses and other information that might benefit researchers and genealogists.
- 1913-12-01-AA Cole to JL Englehart A letter dated Dec 1, 1913 to J.L. Englehart from A.A. Cole, Mining Engineer, in which the latter provides an overview assessment of various silver claims in the Elk Lake and Gowganda Districts. [TR]
- 1919 Vernon Directory
- 1925-11-30 AA Cole to George W Lee A letter dated Nov 30, 1925 to George Lee, Chairman, T&NOR from A.A. Cole, Mining Engineer, is effectively a typed “Report on Proposed Railway to serve Matachewan and Gowganda Mining Area.” [TR]
- 1928 Might Directory Town of Cobalt Streets
- 1928 Might Directory Cobalt 1928 List of Names
- 1958 Antonio Giachino retires
- Cobalt Buildings Designated with Ontario Heritage Trust Note: Some of the buildings in the list have since been demolished.
- Gowganda Ho by NR Green a typed manuscript describing a very early canoe trip to Gowganda by a N.R. Green, titled Gowganda Ho. Unfortunately, there is no date associated with this story, but it is from the early days prior to or during the discovery of silver in Gowganda, so 1907 thereabouts. [TR]
- Archaeological Sites in the Historic Cobalt Mining Camp Presentation in 2008 by John Pollock
- The Nancy Helen Mine a short article © Allan Stacey on the Nancy Helen mine for the “Handcar”, a bi-monthly newsletter of the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum and Heritage Centre. Offered here with permission; if quoted credit must be given to Allan Stacey.
- Cobalt’s Mayors A compiled list by the CHS
- Temiskaming Testing Labs technical report that was part of a presentation given by the mill manager in 1952 – CVJ O’Shaughnessy. Photos were taken by Alex MacLean in 1943. The photos were used as part of the presentation. These photos have been also been posted to our album on our Facebook page.
- Ontario Dept. of Mines – Historic Claims Maps
- Bibliography of Local History Publications
- List of Cobalt Fires
- The Story of Agnico-Eagle With Pictures
- CHS Timeline
- Agnico-Eagle Annual Report 1987 – see Silver Division report on the history of the Cobalt mine camp
- Agnico-Eagle Annual Report 1988 – see Silver Division report on the history of the Cobalt mine camp
- Joseph Chambers Houston Number 10 in a Series “Just Passing Through” © Allan Stacey for the “Handcar”, a bi-monthly newsletter of the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum and Heritage Centre. Offered here with permission; if quoted, credit must be given to Allan Stacey. Joseph Chambers Houston Photo Collection
- 1916 Fire Insurance Maps
- Charles Havelock Taylor – Engineer Who Designed the Ragged Chute Air Compressor Station on the Montreal River. – A Blog by Bob Hawkins.
- HMCS Cobalt – Cobalt’s Namesake Goes to War by Charles Dumaresq
- 1922 Cobalt Voters’ List
- List of O’Brien Mine Employees in the 30’s
Selected YouTube Videos
Silver Mining In Ontario (1925) British Pathé shows the actual drilling and blasting. 5:05
Cobalt, Ontario has been designated Ontario’s Most Historic Community for the key role it played in opening the north to settlement and launching Canada’s massive mining industry. This footage was taken by amateur film maker Anthony Giachino in the years following the silver boom (1920s, 1930s). 4:37
Winter In Cobalt More footage from Anthony Giachino of the historic silver mining town of Cobalt, Ontario.3:32
Vintage scenes of Cobalt, Ontario Ontario’s Most Historic Town. Silver was discovered in the area in the summer of 1903, during the construction of the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway from North Bay to the communities of Haileybury and New Liskeard, north of Cobalt. Within a few years the area was one of the largest silver producing areas in the world. 3:46
Crown Reserve Mine in Cobalt, Ontario. 1:43 [KA]
Cobalt, Ontario Emptied out mining cuts from the cobalt boom days. 4:58 [KA]
Right-of-Way mining head frame that can be seen up close on a tour with the town or on your own adventure. 2:02 [KA]
Cart Lake and the Provincial Head Frame Old mining head frames and tailings pond. 3:22 [KA]
Little Silver Vein old mines in Cobalt Ontario. 1:06 [KA]
Nipissing 96 100 year old mining head frame on its last legs, and now no longer there. 1:57 [KA]
Cobalt’s Abandoned Mayfair Silver Mine Exploring the abandoned Mayfair Silver Mine Fall 2017, outside of Cobalt Ontario. 19:12
Bill Sutton describes the Ragged Chutes Air Plant on the day of its de-commissioning May 26, 1988 13:27
Nipissing Mine 3D Interpretation This is a 3D, computer generated model of the historic Nipissing Mine and Nipissing Hill in Cobalt, Ontario. [posted by North Country Aerial] 7:24
Blooms – Mining built Cobalt over 100 years ago, but what will it take to keep the town afloat now?
Blooms: a film about the past, present, and future of Cobalt, Ontario by Jordan Vandenberg and Alec Jordan.