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Burgess Mine Village
1912
Burgess Mine Road


Credits:
Bessemer Book

15

In 1905, the Burgess operation was taken over by the Ashland Emery and Corundum Company. However, the quality and quantity of corundum was not good so a new deposit was worked two miles north near Grady Lake.

Early in 1910 the Armstrong Corr Company Ltd. leased the Burgess plant but after two months operation the Manufacturer’s Company, already running the Craigmont Mill four miles to the east took over from them and crude concentrate from the Burgess Mine was reprocessed and finished at Craigmont.

Mr. Santz was the first manager, and he was succeeded by Wilson Mackey. Among the foremen were William Kelly, Fred Cone and Joseph Chidley. Kelly also worked at Craigmont and was known as 'Klondike' Kelly because he previously worked in the Yukon Gold Rush.

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Burgess Mine Mill
1905
Burgess Mine Road


Credits:
Bessemer Book

17

After the February 3, 1913 fire that totally destroyed the Craigmont Mill, some of the machinery that was salvaged was moved to the Burgess Mine and company teams drew Craigmont’s wood supply that had escaped the blaze. The office staff was also moved and James Scott who kept the Craigmont Company Store transferred his operations to Burgess.

The Burgess Mine operation continued to produce corundum until 1918 when the mill closed down due to a lack of demand. A synthetic substitute known as 'Carborundum' spelled the end of the Burgess Mine as a viable economic enterprise.

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Burgess Mine Tractor Engine
1908
Burgess Mine Road

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Burgess Mine tractor
1908
Burgess Mine Road


Credits:
Barry's Bay This Week

20

In the early part of the 1900’s there was a major interest and plan to put a railway through to the corundum mines in Craigmont and Burgess. The plan was to establish a rail line from approximately halfway between the Barry’s Bay railway - the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway and follow roughly the Old Barry’s Bay road, cross the Madawaska River just below the present day site of Madonna House and onto the Lower Craigmont Road. In fact the latter road is still on the blueprints of the area in the Township of Madawaska Valley and show it being owned by the railway at 33’ wide in some sections rather than the normal 66’ for a highway.

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The line would follow the old Craigmont road to the mine and then wind it’s way to the Burgess Mine and travel cross country to the Bessemer iron ore mine just east of L’Amble below Bancroft. At the time the idea sounded good. Picking up the corundum at two mines and the iron ore at and other. Unfortunately as the years went by the corundum mines were having many major problems and markets evaporated as well as Bessemer had a high sulphur content and was a very low grade of iron ore. The plan was eventually scrapped. The railway was going to be called the 'Bessemer and Barry's Bay Railway'. There is even a photo of the locomotive and tender in the museum with this name on it.

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Barry's Bay Bessemer Train
1907
Bessemer Rail Line


Credits:
Bessemer Book