Val-Jalbert is a calm and inviting ghost town in Quebec
Val-Jalbert, located in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, is one of the best-preserved ghost towns in Canada. Having the Ouiatchouan falls as a background, it was first called Saint-Georges-De-Ouiatchouan at the time of its establishment back in 1901 by its founder Damase Jalbert. The deserted town was then renamed Val-Jalbert to honour him in 1913.
Val-Jalbert was a pioneer before its desertion
Carol Perehudoff in her blog “Wandering Carol” visits the town and tells us a little more about the town and what can be found there. At the time when Val-Jalbert was founded, the pulp and paper business was booming. Val-Jalbert was a mill town and produced non-transformed pulp. The mill was powered by the Ouiatchouan waterfall and the millworkers were paid much more than elsewhere. All houses had electricity and indoor plumbing which was a trailblazer. Damase Jalbert wanted to make this town the most modern in Quebec. According to a short video the author watched there, a previous resident says “it was paradise.”
However, the inhabitants started deserting the town when the demand of non-transformed pulp decreased and that of paper increased and the mill in town did not have the necessary technology to produce paper forcing the mill to close down and the inhabitants to look for work elsewhere.
Val-Jalbert is slowly returning to life.
Even though it is extremely costly to re-build the town using the same authentic materials and building techniques, some facilities have been set up. Visitors can have a look at wooden houses in which pictures of previous residents are found. In the Grinder’s room of the old mill, the town’s history can be experienced through films, music and a multi-media ‘spectacle’ of mist. Past residents, in the form of holograms, take us to the glorious days of the town till its desertion. There is also a newly built glass viewing platform that overlooks the waterfall and an underground mini power plant to provide some revenue. Tourists can take a cable car to travel on top of the waterfall and get an extensive view of the town. In winter, visitors can indulge in activities like snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Tourists can take the old trolley bus to tour the town too.
Tourist accommodations have been set up
A number of the old wooden houses have been rebuilt, renovated and turned into hotels. The author says she stayed in one of these old houses and that it looked authentic from the outside and boutique chic from the inside. Her room had a view of the General Store which sold staples earlier but now sold souvenirs. Tourists can also have a gourmet dining experience in the restaurant at the mill. Alternatively, tourists can stay in mini cottages or go camping on the site, in addition, they can stay at the inn above the General Store. The author says that she felt a sense of warmth of love on staying there, most probably the love the past inhabitants had for their mill town heaven.
h/t: Wandering Carol
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