NEW RELEASE
White Mountain Publications
New & Pre-Loved Books
at 50 Silver Street in historic Cobalt, ON
from 2014 to 2022
Housed in the historic Coniagas shaft house #4 on the corner of Silver Street and Prospect Avenue in Cobalt, ON, we offered our published titles along with new titles from the Little Claybelt Homesteaders Museum, the Cobalt Historical Society as well as some we rescued from the old Highway Book Shop before it closed. The selection of pre-loved books that people have brought in is amazing. We literally have a little bit of everything. To see if we have what you are looking for, stop in for a visit. We have information brochures for visitors, and have gained a fair knowledge of the area. In August of 2022 we moved to our new location at 8 Prospect Avenue, our new permanent home.
What is this building?
Located in dowtown historic Cobalt, this was an actual shaft house for the Coniagas mine that operated here between 1904 and 1924. The shaft went down 350 feet (106.68 meters) and brought the men down to work in the mines as well as bringing ore up out of the ground. 32.5 million ounces of silver were produced by the Coniagas, about a tenth of what was produced in Cobalt in that era. Cobalt was renowned world-wide as the Silver Capital of Canada. It attracted attention and celebrities, including a visit from the Prince of Wales in 1919 pictured in this postcard.
In 1924 the building was sold and Mr. Giachino had a grocery store here. The cold air of the shaft was used by Mr. Giachino for refrigeration. Mr. Red Despres operated the grocery store next. In the late 1960s/or early 1970s the government decreed that the cold air of the shaft was not 'climate controlled' enough and regular refrigeration was brought in.
After that, and I am not sure of the order, it was:
* a florist shop, who also used the air from the shaft to cool their stock
* an insurance agency
* a wig shop
* a wool shop called "Findings"
* a travel agency (although that may have been upstairs while the grocery store was operating)
* the Firefighters Museum (which is now around the corner on Lang Street)
* an ice cream parlour
* Town of Cobalt office
* an exploration company
and I will continue to fill in the list as I find out.
When I first saw this building in 1996, the main floor was divided into two sections. One side was Temiskaming Home Support, and I was on the other side to visit Charlie Angus at the office of the new HighGrader magazine. Charlie offered me a ride on the cage, but I was too chicken.
After those years, it was a restaurant, twice. First as the Silver Street Café and then as Cornmeals who served the best bannock I have ever had. It was empty for about 5 years before we came to turn it into a book store.
Can I look (or go) down the shaft?
No.
First off, it would be way too dangerous. That's when it was still open. In November of 2015, Agnico Eagle filled in the shaft, effectively sealing it so that the cold wind stopped coming up from underground, and the floor settled. We are most grateful.
If you wanted to know what it looked like, dig a hole in your backyard about 5 foot by 5 foot square and about 4 feet deep. Go out and have a look at it at midnight with no moon. That's what it looked like. Sorry, but there really wasn't anything to see except black with a cold wind coming up, summer and winter.
How long have you been here?
In March of 2014 we started renovations and opened quietly end of July, 2014. Our Grand Opening was August 8, 2014. We closed there August 20th, 2022 to move to our new location at 8 Prospect Avenue- across the street and about 200 feet away, but in a much larger building.
