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Location DB >
Canada >
Quebec >
Gatineau >
Meech Lake Ruins
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created by Mutt
on 7/13/2004 6:35 PM
last modified by hedd
on 7/7/2007 3:21 AM
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Publically Viewable |
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This location has been labeled by its creator as Public, and therefore can be viewed by anyone.
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Type: Building
Status: Abandoned
Accessibility: Easy
Recommendation: worth the trip
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fat naked men, umm "Naturalists"
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See hazards. Although this site is on NCC property within Gatineau Park it is quite remote so over the years this has become a local naturalist site. Expect to see naked people. I was kind of miffed that there were only fat old men there, no nekked women on the day I toured the area. They didn't seem to mind the camera.
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mosquitos and black flies depending on time of year.
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bug juice if during buggy times of the year.
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The ruins at Meech Lake are no secret to those who know Gatineau Park, but the story of the gentleman who built them, Thomas 'Carbide' Willson is not well known.
Throughn out his lifetime (1860- 1915) Willson was a tireless and ingenious inventor, engineer, entrepreneur, and electrochemist, facinated with emerging technologies of his day.
While experimenting with aluminun, he discoveredx how to produce Calcium Carbide, a product which was to make his fortune and extend his influence to international proportions. He sold the American patenat to what was to become The Union Carbide Company in the United States. By 1895 the American British, Canadian and Australian markets were controlled by syndicate, and Willson had paents in fourty other countries. Fearful of losing the rights to the Canadian market, he rushed back to Canada in 1896 to build his own carbide generating plant at Merrilton Ontario which turned profit for him even in its forst year of operation.
By 1909 he had purchaced 460 acres of land including all of Little Meech Lake and the start of Meech Creek just at the water fall where Patrick Farrel had built his dam. Thomas was delighted to further his studies on Nitrogen. Encouraged bu others who said his fertillizer was so revolutionary that i would put all the other manufacturers out of business, Willson desided to build a plant at Meech Lake.
In 1911 Willson built a dam using 1004 bags of cement, about 4 to 5 railcars worth. In the next two years he put up the power house picured here in the DB. This was a hundred thousand dollar experimental station. He was proud of the acid tower he built and believed it to be the perfect acid condensation plant, the first Phosphoris Acid Condensation Plant in the world.
No sooner did the experiments begin then the local residents at the Lake were up in arms. One day there boat houses would be six feet under water the next day six feet from the water.
Willson was convinced that the plant would be an overwhelming financial and industrial succes. He sold his other companies and took out loans against his other patents with a single investor, American tobacco king JB Duke. His financial dreams then turned to nightmares. Duke absorbed all the assetts when Willson's time limit for production ran out.
Athough the Meech Lake plant fell into disrepair, Willson himself was not totally ruined. His interests in Newfoundland were not included in the Duke deal; he turned his attention to developing that provinces Hydro Electric capacity. In two years he formed another 20 million dollar corporation-but alas, in 1915, while seeking additional venture capitol, he collapsed on a New York street, dying of a heart attack.
The acid condensation tower, dam and generating plant were never maintained. The tower fell victim to a fire, now only its base stands. The dam and generating plant- windows sadly gaping- still stand toi haunt the cascading water fall with memories of industry.
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Now part of Gatineau Park, a federally owned park.
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The moderator rating is a neutral rating of the content quality, photography, and coolness of this location.
| Category |
Rating |
| Photography |
8 / 10 |
| Coolness |
8 / 10 |
| Content Quality |
9 / 10 |
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This location's validation is current. It was last validated by
Emperor Wang on 1/2/2021 4:28 PM.
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on Jan 2 21 at 16:28, Emperor Wang validated this location
on Dec 31 20 at 18:37, ToxicUrbex added some pictures to a gallery
on Dec 31 20 at 18:36, ToxicUrbex created a new gallery
on Sep 8 19 at 17:15, Emperor Wang validated this location
on Sep 7 19 at 21:20, The Secret Lens deleted 1 pictures from gallery August 2017
on Sep 7 19 at 21:17, The Secret Lens added some pictures to a gallery
on Sep 7 19 at 21:17, The Secret Lens added some pictures to a gallery
on Sep 7 19 at 21:07, The Secret Lens added some pictures to a gallery
on Sep 7 19 at 21:01, The Secret Lens created a new gallery
on Oct 29 10 at 14:34, Opheliaism validated this location
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