Sunday, November 18, 2007

Hydro Power Dam in LaSalle

Someone recently was enquiring about the old power dam that was in LaSalle. Here is a picture that I had posted  on the 30th of July 2005 and wich I am reproducing. The picture is dated 1910. All that was left of the structure in the 40s and 50s when I lived in Verdun was the cement foundation and we crossed it at our risk. The foundation was replaced by an earth mound.
Translation:
in the autumn of  1895, about 20 rich Canadians and a rich Chicago businessman joined to form the LACHINE RAPIDS HYDRAULIC AND LAND CO. Their objective was to exploit the energetic resources of the Lachine rapids by uinvesting in the construction of AN electric energy.
A few months later, it is estimated that 400 workers were involved in the construction of the dam. It is to be noted that the invasion of these workers resulted in the construction of boarding houses in the Bronx district.
This hydro project, installed at the extremity of Bishop Power boulevard, was the most powerfull in America after the construction of the American side of the Niagara falls.
The official inauguration was held on the 25th of September 1897. During many years, this hydraulic project produced for the region. In 1931, the project discontinued its activities. At the time it was owned by the MONTREAL LIGHT HEAT AND POWER.
 
 

30 comments:

guy5479 MSN said...

Here is another photo of the Montreal Light Heat and Power dam in LaSalle from the beginning of the 1900's. This  is a birdseye view looking west. The Lachine rapids are on the left. Guy  

les__f MSN said...

nice find Guy,.........that new library is prooving to be a gold mine of information,,,,,,,,, I hope we can find some good pictures one of these days,close up od the old dam,& maybe later on when it stood in ruins for years. Those were fun to crossover,.etc etc .......................Thanks for the update,...  hf&rv

brownblvd MSN said...

Hi Guy,

For some reason, I couldn't see the picture that you posted of the dam near Lachine Rapids. I could see the aerial picture in your next message right after that.

I'd love to see it, so can you re post it, maybe?

Thanks.

BrownBlvd

guy5479 MSN said...

Ray, I had to remove that picture since I needed more alloted space. I will see if I can dig it out and get back to you. Guy

les__f MSN said...

Hope this shot shows up: stereo view | reverse side ......just in case the picture disappears, here's the URL to access it:     http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt296nb75p/;jsessionid=5hrUEuJlS6-QAEYW?docId=kt296nb75p&brand=calisphere&layout=printable-details ...................it's a shot taken from Upstream of the old powerhouse dam ( MLH&P) Lasalle Dam to most of us,........                                                                                  HF&RV

brownblvd MSN said...

Hi Guy and Les,

Thanks for the picture, Les. I saved that one in my own Verdun Historical archive. Looks like it was from 1922.

Guy, if it is no trouble for you, then you could email me that picture if you like at alisaus@sasktel.net.

Thanks!

BrownBlvd

les__f MSN said...

Found another areial shot of the old Dam in Lasalle,.........haven't come across one of it in ruins,which is how it was when we used to cross it,but in time I'm sure someone will find an old shot of it.........                                         have fun & remember Verdun

guy5479 MSN said...

Les, This is the 3rd photo I now have of this dam that many Verdunites of a certain age are familiar with having played on it in my case going back to the 40s. Thanks again for the excellant photo wich will be a great addition to our SHGV archives. I think it was a mistake to demolish this dam, as a mater of fact, there has been mentioned of building a new dam at that location. Guy Here are the other 2 photos I have:    

guy5479 MSN said...

Les, Make that 4 photos of the dam including the one in your message 6. Guy

les__f MSN said...

Guy if you look up the BNQ site, the aerial shot ,posted really looks a lot better than the one I copy'd ,...for some reason the photo came out in a slightly smaller format,.but still a great shot.............       hf&rv Were' starting to get a reasonable collection of these now,.I have saved the ones you have posted to my harddrive as well......Thanks Again

les__f MSN said...

Guy have a look at this shot I had posted it under Montreal Spots,  because I doubted the info posted with the photo: it was depicted as the power house in Lasalle at the dam,.again unfortunately the photo being smaller format,doesn't appear as clear as the actual one on the site,. but if you look at this,it looks like it's taken on the down river side of the Dam of course and that's where many kids & adults could wade into the water ,or fish off tha bank........You can see ,what appears to be Hydro Electric towers carrying wires across the top of the dam:          They say it's the dam in Lasalle ,but I don't really Remember the towers & wires,most of my recollection of the Dam in Lasalle,is from when it was in ruins, Howevewr worth looking at :                                       HF&RV

guy5479 MSN said...

Les, The  power structure was demolished in the beginning of the 30s and I also recall fishing below the dam in the early 40s and only the foundations were left so the photo would probably have been taken in the 20s. Is the text accompaning the photo and the date available so as to confirm its authenticity. Guy

les__f MSN said...

Yes I think there was definetly some information posted with the photo,but I will have to try & find it again ....I look through a lot of pictures & documents,so I'm not positive offhand as to what I searched under,... Give me a little time ,& I will either email you the link or post it here:                                                                                                                 hf&rv

guy5479 MSN said...

Les, If you look closely and compare this latest photo of the dam, the right hand side of the structure and the landscaping are not the same as the other photos. Also there are  no wires on the roof of the other photos. To me, there are too many dissimilutudes. Of course there could have been changes made over the years. I was thinking that perhaps your latest photo could be the Beauharnois Dam ? Guy

carver3570 MSN said...

Les Guy    When I first saw that photo. I Thought it looked like the Beauharnois dam. I pass it often.  Ron ps. people still fish there.

les__f MSN said...

Hello Guy I would tend to agree that it is not the lLasalle Dam,.but I am thinking it could be a dam on the Riviere de Praire side of Montreal,where the river would be narrow enough to accomodate a Dam like that,.. I guess I'll have to think of it as a Montreal Spot item,rather than the Lasalle Dam...( not the first time ,incorrect information was found on a Museum site, I tried finding that photo again on the BNQ site,but I cannot recall the exact 'search' words I used ( LoL) If I come across it again I will forward the info: I do have a sort of ID # that I believe identify's that photo,but I found no 'search' window where I could type in to find by number,.when I type itinto the general search window,it provides 0 returns ???   Yikes !   hahahahaha                Have Fun & Remember Verdun

les__f MSN said...

Thanks Ron I will look up the Beauharnois Dam,& see if that photo comes up........Thanks for the lead,maybe when searching for Lasalle Dam etc etc ,....the search may have returned any photo's of Power Dams ........ I'll check it out:       Thanks Again                                                   HF&RV

les__f MSN said...

I found a couple of pics of Beauharnois, but there are many other tall towers near Beauharnois,& the dam itself doesn't look the same (mind you some pictures could be taken years apart,.??? Cote : E6,S7,SS1,P31208

Centre : Qu챕bec


Titre, Dates, Quantit챕
Table race, Beauharnois Light Heat and Power à Beauharnois / O. Desjardins . - 1946
- 1 photographie(s) Restriction(s)
Restriction COMPLÈTE et permanente de consultation.
Remarque : 짬Seul le pr챗t de la copie est autoris챕 pour consultation sur place lorsqu'un document original est reproduit쨩.
Source : Normes et proc챕dures archivistiques des Archives nationales du Qu챕bec, 4e 챕d., Qu챕bec, Minist챔re des Affaires culturelles, 1992, p. 105 (r챔gle 302). Termes rattach챕s
BEAUHARNOIS (MUNICIPALITE DE PAROISSE : QUEBEC) ...there's still more to look at ,but I can't post them all, I will try to find that original again,.....I'm leaning towards the 'Back River' ( Riviere de Prairie area) .............Oh well were getting a tour of the province ...........hahahahah                                HF&RV

les__f MSN said...

Well that didn't copy well did it..............................(LoL) Anyone out there study 'hieroglyphics'............Yikes ..........                    HF&RV

guy5479 MSN said...

Les, You are referring to the Rivière des Prairies Dam. This is the only other bridge in the Montreal area that I know of. Perhaps this is the one on the photo. I will also look on the BNQ site. Here is a section of the Rivière des Prairies I scanned from my Montréal city map betweeen route 19 and route 25 called Barrage Centrale de la Rivière des Prairies. Guy    

les__f MSN said...

Thanks Guy I will use some of that info to continue my search for that other photo's whereabouts,...but in case you can navigate the BNQ site quicker than I can,..I can't seem to see a spot where I can just search by the Id# on the photo,....but Here is the number , I hope it helps ( I keep getting a 'session ezpired msg' ..................hahahahah   06M_E6S7552_D69-037_011    ( I may have mixed up the 5's for an S , and Vice-Versa )                                           Good Luck ,....Have Fun & Remember Verdun

les__f MSN said...

Yes the Beauharnois site is just too big relative to the photo I saw (posted ) the other day......it must be Riviere des Prairie, ???????    ....... this is not the same site, I'm sure ,.this dam is far more exposed with taller towers around it,.the other looked like it had small towers too accomodate a small dam ,they were not very high ??/  Hope we find that picture again ,...and see what it says.........   HF&RV

les__f MSN said...

Guy , I have found two other photos ,showing the exact spot & dam that was in question as to it's where abouts,.I stumbled onto these,which have a better look at the 'barrage' ................it is Riviere Des Prairie,  ( so wherever I found that first shot,it was accompanied by misleading info,ie: the Lasalle Dam here's some info that accompanies these pictures: Port챕e et contenu
Ce dossier présente, entre autres, de la pêche à l'alose en aval de Barrage de la Rivière-des-Prairie (E6,S7,SS2,P64210,1 à E6,S7,SS2,P64210.3); des campeurs sur les rives de la rivière Saint-Lambert à Laprairie (E6,S7,SS2,P64210.4 à E6,S7,SS2,P64210.5); de la pêche à l'achigan près de Châteauguay (E6,S7,SS2,P64210.6 à E6,S7,SS2,P64210.7); de la pêche à la perchaude près de l'entrée du canal Lachine sur le lac Saint-Louis (E6,S7,SS2,P64210.8 à E6,S7,SS2,P64210.10); le fleuve Saint-Laurent à la hauteur de Saint-Timothée (E6,S7,SS2,P64210.11 à E6,S7,SS2,P64210.12).   .Guy the info above explains the whole list of photo's on this particular link,where the first two ,are of the Dam in question........             Hopefully this msg appears,without disappearing into cyber-space, as MSN is very slow to load the photo's right now,So I'm sending the text first & hopefully the photo's can be sent in the next post,.......                                                                                                     HF&RV  

les__f MSN said...

Pictures of Riviere des Prairie Dam:       ........HF&RV

Unknown said...

Looking for pictures of the dam from the 60s. I used to cross the ruins to the islands often in my youth. Cannot see any photos talked about on that site. Any suggestions or help? Thanks.

Unknown said...

Any chance you could send me the dam photos? Thanks

Unknown said...

Any chance of you sending me the photos you talk about ? Thanks.

Unknown said...

Any chance you could send me the photos you speak of ? Thanks

Unknown said...

Hello to all. Just found this site. Looking for photos of the old dam in the 50s or 60s. I read all the posts talking about the photos but I do not see them. Not sure why. Could someone email me directly with the some photos. The dam was a big part of my youth and I’m feeling very nostalgic these days. Thanks

Les_F said...

Yes unfortunately when I tried to save everything from the original Verdun Connections site,the photos did not always make the transition successfully. However that being said I did try to save all photos in an external hard drive, so almost all of the photos that do not show up in the actual topics are saved.but I have not yet found the time to even try to match up pictures with each story posted. I may at some point (and most likely will at some point) start to post all the photos I have ..........but that is not one of my priorities at this point. This site & it's origins date back to the late 1990's from the original and subsequent sites of Verdun Connections leading to this blog where I tried to save the stories etc etc
Cheers ! LesF