$32.00 CAD
| /
Postcard photo of early years of the Northern Ontario mining silver rush town of Cobalt. Image of man standing outside tent, some logs and tree stumps. In background can see few basic houses around lake, forest still being cleared.
Based on a previous card in inventory, the large white tent is first location of Imperial Bank.
At bottom of photo ‘Lake & Lewis Cobalt Ont.’ and ‘COBALT 1905-06’.
Sent from son back to mother in England:
“Mother, expect you wonder where I am but don’t trouble things are allright”.
Added at bottom “Cobalt Silver Mines”
Postmarked ‘COBALT ONT AM MR 20 06’. Mailed to Mrs. Jackson Leicester England. Stamp removed.
Corner creases. Some damage on back where stamp removed. Toning & smudges on back.
(Red text is an electronic watermark that is not physically part of the photo for sale)
The Cobalt silver rush started in 1903 when huge veins of silver were discovered by workers on the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway (T&NO) near the Mile 103 post. By 1905 a full-scale silver rush was underway, and the town of Cobalt, Ontario sprang up to serve as its hub. By 1908 Cobalt produced 9% of the world's silver, and in 1911 produced 31,507,791 ounces of silver. However, the good ore ran out fairly rapidly, and most of the mines were closed by the 1930s. There were several small revivals over the years, notably in World War II and again in the 1950s, but both petered out and today there is no active mining in the area. In total, the Cobalt area mines produced 460 million ounces of silver.
WIKIPEDIA
