The former Brown family factory, now the La Tuque WestRock factory.
Lac Saint-Louis was one of the first neighbourhoods to undergo development. The story of the Brown family and of a factory that contributed significantly to the development of La Tuque began close to this neighbourhood, the veritable heart of the town.
Construction of the water line linking the paper mill and Lac Parker, circa 1917–1918.
The Brown family, sawmill operators in New Hampshire since 1865, was drawn by our forests and the region’s hydroelectric potential. They embarked on their first exploratory tour of our land in 1904. Shortly afterwards, they founded the Quebec and Saint Maurice Industrial Company, acquired the rights to the falls and, by 1907, had become the largest private owner of woodland in Quebec. Construction work on a dam and a wood pulp mill began in 1909. The factory, which became the Brown Corporation in 1917, was recognized as the first kraft paper mill in Canada in 1928.
In search of purer water to produce the whitest possible paper, the company looked to Grand-lac-Wayagamac. In 1935, the Brown Corporation installed, at great cost, a 1.12-metre (44 inches) diameter water main over 13 kilometres, the distance that separated the mill and the lake. By 1940, their hydroelectric station met the needs of both the city and the factory.
“Providence has given us good fortune. We must share this wealth with the workers,” one of the sons often said. Every Christmas, they gifted a turkey to each married employee. During the 1920s, they opened an infirmary to protect the health of both the workers and the population. They also built a farm with a creamery that distributed up to 500 quarts of milk a day to families in need.
La Tuque transformed from a small village to a bustling city. The factory was the driving force behind a thriving neighbourhood where the Browns built St. Andrew’s Church and the High School. This generous family viewed education, religion and recreation as the cornerstones of a healthy city. Their legacy lives on in the expansive network of hiking, mountain biking, quad biking and snowmobile trails that are accessible to all via one of the oldest suspension bridges in Quebec, which was built in 1908.
The Brown Corporation sold its shares in 1954. Now owned by WestRock, 1000 Factory Street remains a city landmark. Ice water from Lac Wayagamac still flows into Lac Saint-Louis. The whiter-than-white paper is still very popular!
