Up the Gatineau! Article
This article was first published in Up the Gatineau! Volume 10.
The Haycock Iron Mine
Donald D. Hogarth, M.A.Sc., PhD.
The Haycock Mine is a story of rags to riches and back to rags. lt involved the nineteenth century fortunes of many prominent men of Ottawa including Edward Haycock, Senator James Skead, Joseph Merrill Currier, M.P. for Ottawa and Dr. James Alexander Grant, later Sir James Grant. Just why these men, who had been successful in other business ventures, were duped by a report, obviously false, remains to this day a mystery. Perhaps it reflects the credulity of the day, perhaps a lack of knowledge of the fundamentals of ore deposits. Equally mysterious, is why the author of the said report, Professor Edward John Chapman, at this time one of Canada's most eminent geologists and a man of international renown, should have fallen into pitfalls that would seem so obvious and avoidable today. It seems incredible that a man of Chapman's calibre would jeopardize his reputation by issuing a company report founded on such scanty and unscientific data.
Whereas from 1800 to 1865 the dominant mining interest near Ottawa centred around the Forsyth iron deposit, from 1865 to 1975 the liveliest mining activity was connected with the Haycock iron mine and the Buckingham graphite mines, and from 1875 to 1890 this emphasis was, in turn, transferred to the numerous phosphate (apatite) mines in the Gatineau-Lievre district. The Buckingham graphite mines are somewhat to the east of our area and will not be considered here.
The Haycock iron deposits, on the east side of the Gatineau River, were discovered by George F. Austin, a land surveyor of Ottawa, in 1865, about the time of settlement of the area by Elizabeth Holmes, the widow of Joseph Darby (1865), and Charles Darby (1867). In 1866, the deposits were visited and described, in detail, by Sir William Logan, but despite Logan's guarded comments, in October 1872 mineral rights to 300 acres were purchased from the Darbys for a reported sum of $8,000 by Edward B. Haycock, a well-to-do contractor in Ottawa. In addition, Mr. Haycock secured a point of land of 10 acres on the banks of the Gatineau River opposite lronside village as an ore-storage depot and shipping location. Ample docking and piling facilities were set up on this point, and connection with the mine was effected by construction of a 6% mile, 3-foot gauge, railway completed in October 1873. In order to minimize the effects of rough topography, much of this railroad was on trestle. The cars were to be horsedrawn on hardwood rails. Mr. Samuel H. Haycock, eldest son of the proprietor of the mine, was the engineer.
The railroad naturally required considerable timber which was initially obtained on the right-of-way itself but later drawn from a 100-acre lot contiguous to the mine, also purchased by Edward Haycock. A portable, 20 hp‘ steam sawmill was installed for cutting timber on the edge of the swamp below the mine.
The property was managed by D. B. MacDonald, a conscientious Scot, formerly employed at the A. H. Baldwin mining enterprise. During this period two large pits were excavated and a short adit, probably planned as a drainage tunnel for the pits about 50 feet to the north and 35 feet above it, was left incomplete. There was much stripping of overburden, trenching and minor pitting over an area of about 4 acres. By the fall of 1873, 5,000 tons of highgrade iron ore had been taken out and stockpiled nearby in anticipation of erection of blast furnaces at the Gatineau River site.
Bunkhouses, boardinghouse, storehouses, manager's residence, offices, stables, powderhouse, blacksmith shop and crushing house were set up around the sawmill and a well organized street began to emerge. The community was locally dubbed "Hematite". In the words of the editor of the Ottawa Daily Citizen, who visited the property in August, 1873, “there is quite a village at ‘Hematite’ and it is far more deserving of the title ‘city’ than many western communities we have seen”.
Principal Iron deposits near Ottawa
1. Rainville Creek (J. Grier, J.A. Grant);
2. Canada Iron Mining and Manufacturing Co.;
3. Michael Flynn; 4. Haycock Mine;
5. Edward Burke; 6. Forsyth Mine
Courtesy of Dr. D.D. Hogarth
Financing was initially from the private funds of Edward Haycock who, up to 1874, had spent over $110,000 in developing the mine. In the fall of 1873 a series of meetings were held in Ottawa to form a joint stock company for the further financing of the enterprise. On January 28,1874 a charter was granted the Ottawa Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company who were to pay Haycock $250,000 in cash and stock for the property, equipment and mining rights but, owing to the small amount of cash on hand in 1875, cash payments were deferred until March, 1878.
From January 1874 until November 1875, the Company expended $30,000 on improvements at the mine. The President of the newly formed company was Sir James Skead, the Vice President Richard Scougall Cassels and the Secretary David West, all of Ottawa. The Mining Consultant was Dr. Edward John Chapman, Professor of Mineralogy and Geology at University College, Toronto, who had already visited the property in May, 1873 on behalf of Mr. Haycock. The prospectus was endorsed by Sir John A. MacDonald.
The first annual shareholders meeting was held on December 31, 1875 and a dividend of 10% on the first stock issue was paid on February 9, 1876.
It was planned to eventually set up 2 furnaces on the Gatineau River with a capacity of 40 tons of iron per day but initially the production was from the Haycock location on a much smaller scale. A contract for delivery of brick and hardwood to the mine was awarded in the spring of 1875 and four small Catalan (charcoal) furnaces and a kiln were installed during the summer.
The first production of wrought iron, a mass of “bloom” of 200 pounds, was made on September 2, 1875. It was hammered into horseshoe nails by the mine’s blacksmith and a ring was given to Edward Haycock who attached it to his watch chain as a memento.
Opportunely, the annual Ontario Provincial Exhibition was held in Ottawa in late September, 1875 and the company considered this a chance to display their wares. An elaborate exhibit of ores, iron and steel from the Haycock Mine was laid out and for this the Ottawa Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company was awarded one of the two gold medals for the year by the Agriculture and Arts Association of Ontario (both prizes were for products taken from Quebec!).
By mid-October the 4 furnaces were operating full-blast and producing 5 tons of metallic iron per day. The ore was roasted in the kiln (its remains and scorched ore still identifiable today), crushed in a stamp mill and fed to one of the furnaces. “Blooms” taken from the furnace were hammered into “billets”, pieces of iron 2 1/2 feet long and 4 inches square, in which form it was ready for market.
The ultimate destination of the iron is, in general, not known although, in 1875, some was purchased by a firm in Belgium to be used in specially tough steel for munitions. ln May, 1876, the Company had 150 tons of billets on hand which were later sold in England for lathe steel and file steel.
Up to this time no one spoke of the quality ofthe ore in anything but the most glowing terms. By some, the iron industry was regarded as a replacement for the regional lumber trade but already in October, 1875 some doubt began to be expressed on the quantity of the ore. During 1875-1876 it became apparent that reserves of ore had been grossly overestimated in the initial surveys. According to Cirkel “that while the quality of the ore was excellent, the quantity necessary to keep the furnaces permanently in operation seems to have been lacking".
On May 5, 1876, it was necessary to raise an additional $5,000 in order to continue operations. This fund-raising campaign was unsuccessful and the property remained inactive during the summer. Serious interest in the ores has not been revived.
Permission to re-print this material was kindly granted by the author. Dr. Donald D. Hogarth. of the Department of Geology. University of Ottawa.