The Gypsum Mine/La Mine De Plâtre

Father Pierre Fiset, Chéticamp parish priest, is generally recognized as being responsible for starting the gypsum mine in Chéticamp in 1907. When news broke that a prospector named Grandin had found gypsum in Chéticamp, Father Fiset lost no time in establishing the Great Northern Mining Company Ltd. Shares were issued at five cents each and were immediately purchased by Chéticamp residents as well as residents of the province of Québec, from where the Fisets originated., In 1907, Father Fiset ordered the construction of a plaster-manufacturing mill, called Le moulin de la mine , at the foot of the mountains of Belle Marche, site of the gypsum quarry. The Grand Opening of the mine and mill operation was held on April 20, 1908. Father Fiset loaded the first gypsum stone into the crusher. The Fiset wharf, located behind the present-day Co-op store, was used to load the Amethyst, a steamboat purchased by Father Fiset with his own money. The sun had risen on a new people of Chéticamp who worked the mine for 10 cents an hour,20 cents if they had their own horse and cart.,