Background

There are a couple of different versions on how gold was first discovered in Cordova. According to the investors’ publication, gold was first discovered in a road bed crossing an outcrop following a heavy rainstorm. Other sources point to a young prospector and miner named Marcus Powell, who accidentally discovered gold while exploring a cave.

Whichever is true, a Peterborough lumber merchant named H. Strickland eventually bought the property. Strickland then sold the mine to another local individual. He in turn sold it to a British firm in 1897, The Cordova Exploration Company. The company worked the mine from 1898 to 1903 and then abandoned it. It appears the Ledyard Mine, an iron mine located about a kilometre south of Cordova, may have used the townsite from 1898 to 1911.

By the time Cordova Gold Mines Ltd. purchased the assets from the British company in 1911, the gold mines had been abandoned for eight years. Their holdings included a total of 377.1 acres in Marmora and Belmont Townships. The purchase included an additional 300 acres at Deer Lake(now known as Cordova Lake) where they built a 1,200 HP power plant. The mining site was totally self contained and included housing for both the workers and management. P. Kirkegaard, a company official and former manager at the nearby Deloro Mines, reportedly started up the mine.

Cordova Gold Mines Ltd. extolled the virtues of both the village of Cordova and the readily available access to both road and rail transportation. The location was considered ideal. Two of the three major railways, the Grand Trunk and the Canadian Northern, both reached the village from different points. A third railway, the Canadian Pacific, had a large freight station in Havelock which was only 19 kilometres away. The company’s head office was located in Toronto, some 157 kilometres, a trip which at that time took between four to five hours.

Most of the village of Cordova was located on the company’s property. The company sold off a number of lots to local individuals to establish private homes, stores and other businesses to meet the residents’ needs. Other amenities included two churches, a school, three general stores, one of which was under company ownership, a post office, butcher, baker, and a large company boarding house. The village was designed to accommodate between 400 to 500 residents.

Like most mining communities, Cordova was ‘officially’ dry. The refreshment parlour served only non-alcoholic beverages. However legend has it that just north of the village there was a road right on the boundary line between Hastings and Peterborough Counties. At the end of the road was a mobile saloon. Word travelled fast in those days. Whenever authorities approached, a system of lookouts kicked in. The locals would then quickly wheel the saloon over from the Peterborough to the Hastings side of the road where business would continue as usual.

According to engineering reports, the veins were far deeper than originally thought. One enthusiastic engineer even hinted reserves might be sufficient to carry the mine for another 50 years. The new company planned to increase their profitability by sinking the three main shafts down to 500 ft. and connecting them underground. In addition, they planned to reduce costs in the mill by making better use of the inexpensive waterpower at Deer Lake Falls. The company was also considering other efficiencies.

Sadly for the company the engineering reports were overly optimistic. Cordova Gold Mines operated from 1911 until 1917. During that time the total value of the gold mined amounted to a paltry $334,422. Fire destroyed the plant in 1917 putting an end to company and all mining operations.

The mines at Cordova remained idle from 1917 to 1938. Then another company, COMINCO (Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada), decided to give it one last run. COMINCO, now Teck Cominco Ltd., operated from 1938 to 1940. During that time frame, they produced about 150 tons a day, which yielded a total value of $474,548. The company dismantled the mining buildings and closed the mines forever once they were through. The Deer Lake Fish Hatchery later used the dame and raceway for many years until it too shut down.