The village was created in 1901 to house the pulp mill and the people who worked there, as well as their families.
This type of village is known as a "company village", because a company owned the site and the buildings. When the company closed its doors in 1927, its inhabitants deserted the site.
When the Ouiatchouan Pulp Company was founded in 1901, the father of the project, Damase Jalbert, undertook the construction of a mill ─ a mill ─ which went into production a year and a half later.
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Three years after opening the mill, the "pulp mill", the death of Damase Jalbert and a lack of capital led to bankruptcy. Bought out by American shareholders, the company operates in slow motion. The Compagnie de pulpe de Chicoutimi, headed by Joseph-Édouard Dubuc, acquired the company in 1909. A wind of modernization swept through Val-Jalbert for several years.
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In 1910, major work led to the inauguration of a more efficient plant. A truly dynamic municipal life takes root, with all modern services. An urban development plan guides the growth of the village of Val-Jalbert. By the early 1920s, comfort was the hallmark of life in Val-Jalbert, and the envy of the surrounding population.
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Between May 1924 and December 1925, most of the workforce was laid off due to administrative difficulties. This temporary closure was followed by a dazzling recovery in 1926. However, the fact that only pulp, not paper, was produced added to the financial troubles of Quebec Pulp and Paper Mills, the new owner since 1926. On August 13, 1927, the pulp mill ceased production for good.
The village of Val-Jalbert, which had been built ─ for and around the mill ─ was abandoned within a few years. It became a ghost village. In 1942, the Quebec government expropriates the site for unpaid taxes.
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Left to its own devices, the village of Val-Jalbert was reborn in the 1960s. Today, it welcomes tourists and is one of the region's most beautiful attractions, with its many vestiges that have stood the test of time and are the subject of unique tours.
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In 2009, Corporation du Parc Régional obtained the agreement of the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine (MCCF), Canada Economic Development and the regional county municipality (M.R.C.) of Domaine-du-Roy ─ current owner of the site ─ to finance a $19.7 million project aimed at the complete revitalization of the Val-Jalbert Historic Village, in terms of its infrastructure, interpretation and on-site tourist experience.
To achieve this, several buildings have been restored, the site's natural setting has been enhanced and the interpretation program has been improved. Innovation extends to every facet of the visitor experience, from the website to the trip home. Everything has been reviewed and redesigned to ensure a memorable stay. A modern reception pavilion has been built. Major investments have restored, protected and enhanced the mill, where a new interpretive circuit has been set up. The magnificent Ouiatchouan Falls can now be admired from a glass platform. In terms of lodging, high-comfort rooms and top-notch catering round out a top-quality offering.
These improvements have helped the Historic Village win awards from the Grands prix du tourisme canadien, the Grands prix du tourisme québécois and the Société des musées du Québec.
Val-Jalbert, a fascinating history to discover
We invite you to pick up one of our books on the history of Val-Jalbert at the gift store in the general store.
The Moulin de Val-Jalbert is incredibly important to the history and evolution of the village of Compagnie. Without it, the village would never have seen the light of day! Built in 1901, the mill has undergone two major restorations: the first in 1975 and the second in 2010.
Today, it contains attractions such as the Moulin restaurant, cable car, glass lookout and many more. It is a must-see activity and should be considered a unique historical heritage site.
Buy your ticketsAt the beginning of the 20th century, away from the mill, workers dispose of broken or worn machinery parts. A few steps away, domestic waste is thrown away. Between the unglazed plates and the old shoes with holes in them, women would have gathered here to carry out the daily tasks they had been assigned. Since then, in these former domestic and industrial dumps, nature has reclaimed its rights. Today, it's you who are invited to "La dompe", a strange and magical place where, between the bright green of the moss and the bite of the rusty iron, the present and the past are harmoniously united.
"La dompe" was born of the desire to highlight a little-known, isolated area of the village of Val-Jalbert, and also - by the same token - a rarely-discussed historical reality: that of dumps, garbage dumps, hidden places that we sometimes prefer to forget, but which are part of everyday life in all communities, towns and villages... Even Val-Jalbert!
Thanks to funding from the Ministère de l'Éducation, through the Soutien à la mise à niveau et à l'amélioration des sentiers et des sites de pratiques d'activités de plein-air program, we were able to make the site safe (by building a trail), comfortable (by, among other things, integrating permanent furniture) and accessible to all. We would like to thank the Ministère de l'Éducation du Québec for its funding, without which the Dompe project would not have been possible.
A visit to La Dompe gives us an impression of magic, of magnificent strangeness, where we find beauty and dignity in what shouldn't be (a dump and its waste!). We're invited to enter this place, as if to immerse ourselves in a hidden place, sheltered from the life that runs parallel to it, giving free rein to our imagination, memories and involuntary impressions, creating a constantly renewed visiting experience (with each passage, a new element is revealed!) and one that differs with the seasons.
At the Village historique de Val-Jalbert, you'll be surprised by the quality of the exhibits. Lovers of history, photography and antiques will be delighted by the variety of exhibits.
"Shared Memories" consists of three seven- to eight-minute video vignettes, each featuring amusing and moving testimonials from former Val-Jalbert residents and their descendants. Frames, which blend into the background, come alive with memories, anecdotes and many lessons to be learned. A touching and precious ethnological documentary. The videos can be found in the Tremblay house, the Duchesne house and the convent school.
Enter the old mill and immerse yourself in the world of early 20th-century workers with artifacts from the industrial era.
Cleverly designed, short animated videos (and models that light up as the video progresses) explain the techniques used to produce the pulp used to make paper. These videos offer an additional angle on the history of Val-Jalbert.
Folk art by sculptor and memorialist Léon Bouchard is also on display at the mill.
Family room: "Come on in, we're not fussy".
The "Entrez donc, on n'est pas sorteux" exhibition is the result of extensive research and documentation by Claudette Martel.
Over a period of 15 years, Ms. Martel met with former Val-Jalbert residents and their descendants. With passion, she collected and recorded numerous stories, photos and documents. Hundreds of men and women told her about Val-Jalbert, their village: the one they had loved and never forgotten.
In 2015, Ms. Martel published "Les enfants de Val-Jalbert" (The Children of Val-Jalbert), a rigorous and moving work presenting the totality of this research. Over 200 families are introduced, giving a human face to the village's history and allowing us to understand, for the first time, its cultural fabric.
Ms. Martel's book is incredibly rich. It is a precious bequest that will help future generations understand the importance of this village in Quebec's history and ensure its continuity.