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© MUSO - Musée de société des Deux-Rives

The History of Textile The Weave of Time…

Discover this Exhibition in Salaberry-de Valleyfield, from the Summer of 2014

The Montreal Cotton Company was omnipresent in the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield

landscape, even 20 years after it had been shut down permanently. The presence of

the company had significant repercussions on the public and private lives of area

residents, so-called Campivallensiens.

Commissioned in 1873, right in centre town, the plant looked like a medieval castle

with its huge grey stonework, crenelated towers, bridges over the inlet arms, and

distinctive worker neighbourhoods. You could hear the whistle for kilometres

around, regulating the lives of area residents.

The few architectural features that remain, defying the passage of time, are the

witnesses of an industrial complex that weaved “The Fabric of a City: Montreal

Cotton”.

For the Musée de société des Deux-Rives, the summer of 2014 marks the opening of a

permanent exhibition dedicated to this human and social story set in the midst of

Canada’s textile industry – first of its kind in the country! The following pages are an

overview of the exhibition.

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In the heart of the St. Lawrence River

The geographical setting and hydraulic power of the St. Charles River, alongside the

St. Lawrence River, sparked interest among investors who decided to build a cotton

mill in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, to be named Montreal Cotton Company (MOCO).

From the 1890s to the end of the 1950s, it was Canada’s largest textile plant. At its

peak, over 3,000 people worked there, turning out a wide range of products.

Amid years of instability, competition, and growing union demands, the MOCO tore

down its mills in 1968 and finally completely disappeared from sight in 1992, after 118

years of existence.

The exhibition, entitled The Fabric of a City: Montreal Cotton, is a weave of numerous

stories: the warp and weft of lives. Through fifty or so accounts, hundreds of

photographs, and eloquent artefacts, you will discover a part of the history of

industrialization in Canada at the beginning of the 20th Century.

A story steeped in riches

The history of the MOCO is the story of financial gambles, of people whose means

and ambitions fashioned the emergence of the country into the modern era at the

end of the 19th Century.

At the time, Canada was a fertile industrial greenfield, and the implementation of

large plants and factories brought the country out of an autarkic regime based on

agriculture and the fur trade.

It was a time of inventiveness: founders and investors mostly came from Great

Britain, as did those who backed the MOCO. They belonged to a close-knit circle of

idea-men of the Golden Square Mile who knew no limits. They were merchants,

bankers, and politicians who knew nothing about cotton, but were willing to take

chances.

The first year, 5,000 shares were issued at $100 per; the capital was worth one million

nine years later. Common shares performed at 98% yearly! The MOCO became a huge

landowner when it bought more than 338 acres of land on an island known today as

Grande-Île.

It gained nearly exclusive and unlimited control of hydraulic resources, then the most

powerful in Lower Canada.

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A story of lives

People came from all over to work at the MOCO, leaving the farm to find a new,

better lifestyle in town; the movement from rural to urban living had been set into

motion. The attraction of the city and income stability created a migration trend

within the province, as was the case for spinning mills such as the Valleyfield facility.

People also came from Europe, mostly from Great Britain, cradle of far-reaching ideas

and industrialists. Recruiting agents set up shop in England, where they spoke highly

of Valleyfield’s Montreal Cotton. Specialized workers from Scotland, Ireland, and

England established themselves in the English neighbourhood where they found

homes, schools, and churches.

While the population of Salaberry-de Valleyfield is less than 1% English-speaking today,

there was a time when nearly all MOCO management staff were English speakers;

they had the experience and qualifications to manage large factories. Street names

like Dufferin, Whitaker, Gault, Maden, Gurnham and Simpson are reminders of the

multicultural heritage that fashioned the town.

A story of struggles

From the end of the 19th Century until the 1920s, whole families worked at the MOCO

for a family-based wage. The majority of employees in the textile industry were

women and children. In 18891, women held 41% of textile jobs, while 31% of the

workforce as made up of children under 16 years of age.

From generation to generation, eight-year-old children were trained on the shop

floor, supervised by their parents. In the early 20th Century, for a 60-hour workweek

qualified male workers earned $5 to $6, female workers earned $3, and children, $1.50

to $1.80.

Spinning jobs were hard on labourers. To prevent threads from breaking as they were

being spun, high humidity levels had to be maintained, which led to major health

issues. And weaving machines made infernal noise and vibrated constantly.

At the end of the 1900s, MOCO workers had the highest mortality rate of the entire

manufacturing industry. Not until the 1950s did conditions start to improve.

Together, the above factors led to epic demands from labourers. The cotton industry

was one of the first industry segments to have women join unions. At the MOCO,

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bargaining demands and strikes had started as early as 1875. Better wages and

working conditions were at the centre of demands.

The strikes not only affected MOCO workers, but the entire community also. The

French-Canadian clergy (under the aegis of the future Cardinal Léger in Salaberry-de-

Valleyfield) took a dim view of all these demands and mostly took the side of

management. Workers were thus caught between their struggle to get better

working conditions and the pressures of their faith.

The MOCO was the scene of more than one strike over the years! The 1906 demands

embodied the entire textile industry workforce. They compelled the government to

stop the practice of hiring children below 14 years of age, and insisted that illiterate

children 14-16 years old go to night school.

The 1937 walkout left a bitter taste in the mouths of workers and was a precursor to

the great labour movement ten years later. WWII had been beneficial to labourers

and companies alike, but the return to civilian life brought with it harsh measures

from employers and repression of the labour movement by the Duplessis

government.

Unions became stronger and demanded a 40-hour workweek, a 15-cent per hour pay

increase, two weeks of holidays, illness and accident compensation, and the abolition

of work on Saturday evenings and Sundays.

The Valleyfield factory was hence witness to an historic moment. The 1946 strike

highlighted a chapter of union history that is too often left out of textbooks. Union

certification of Montreal spinning mills was recognized, but the government refused

the same treatment for Valleyfield. The strike was declared illegal, but lasted 100 days

regardless.

Key advocates like Madeleine Parent and Robert Kent Rowley succeeded in

negotiating the first collective agreement in the history of the Montreal Cotton

Company. The strike sparked the collective imagination to such an extent that many

saw it as a harbinger of the Quiet Revolution.

Madeleine Parent, a woman of exception

Loved by some, hated by others, Madeleine Parent stands as a distinguished figure of

union history in Quebec. She was born in Montreal on June 23, 1918, and spent her

entire life fighting social injustice. Her militant journey started at McGill University,

where she studied sociology.

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Madeleine Parent © MUSO collection

Having completed her studies, she used unionism in an effort to improve working

conditions, particularly for women, and the fight for women’s rights was her life’s

work. In 1942, Madeleine accompanied Kent Rowley to Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, in the

role of secretary of the local chapter, and initiated a strike after Rowler had been

arrested. The clergy and Maurice Duplessis accused her of communism; the latter had

her arrested five times.

In 1948, she was found guilty of seditious conspiracy. In 1952, sold out by the

international union for which she campaigned, she decided to join the fight for

Canadian unions. She was a cofounder of Confederation of Canadian Unions (CCU),

formed in 1968.

She retired from the labour movement in 1983, but continued to fight for women’s

rights. She was a founding member of National Action Committee on the Status of

Women (NACSW) and actively participated in various activities, such as the defense

of aboriginal women, the World March of Women, the fight against proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction, and the world peace movement. She died in Montreal

on March 12, 2012. She was 93.

The Fabric of a City

This summer, the Musée de société des Deux-Rives invites one and all to come discover

and relive a chapter of history that has not received the attention is deserves.

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Salaberry-de-Valleyfield was built by industry, and industry continues to be a powerful

regional player. The reasons that led to the creation of the MOCO, more than 130

years ago, are still valid today.

While the Montreal Cotton was not the first industry to set up on the shores of Baie

St. François, it was one of the most prominent and it greatly impacted the urban and

social landscape.

This is the story of local people, but it could also be the story of many other regions

that grew up in the shadow of large industrial complexes. This exhibition is wide-

ranging in scope… and not to be missed!

© MUSO collection

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Mission

© MUSO collection (Barbara McCaig)

Our vision An important and recognized contributor in the promotion of its unique industrial heritage, shaped by its geomorphological location, Musée de société des Deux-Rives (MUSO) is wholly part of regional reality. MUSO innovates and amazes with a creative approach to the dissemination and promotion of our collective memory, as well as the living expression of our social environment.

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Our mission History, art, and heritage museum, Musée de société des Deux-Rives has the mandate of creating a feeling of pride, of local, regional and national belonging through its range of activities, and especially those associated with industrialization.

It organizes interpretative activities, and promotes, popularizes and educates on various themes in the areas of heritage, history and art. It preserves and manages collections tied to regional history and plays a concrete role in social development, notably through museology projects aimed at social intervention.

© MUSO collection (Peter Rozon)

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History of MUSO

In July 1980, a group of people engaged in the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield cultural environment, such as Mr. Marcel Brisebois (former director of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal), established a workshop museum called Écomusée des Deux-Rives. In June 2004, following organizational restructuring in order to establish its first permanent site, the Écomusée was renamed Musée de société des Deux-Rives.

© Musée de société des Deux-Rives collection

Since then, residents have become increasingly absorbed in the museum’s actions: a museum that is about them; that promotes their history and heritage, and fosters a feeling of pride. Above all, it is a museum that captivates and reaches out to local residents, as well as visitors from other parts. Musée de société des Deux-Rives has always had an unwavering purpose: to provide the region with a permanent museum and cultural space. Thirty years later, the dream has become reality. Since November 2010, the museum has been housed in a former Protestant church built in 1882 and located in centre town, next to the imposing Montreal Cotton industrial complex, a cotton fibre processing facility. The church, a true gem of the local building heritage, was carefully transformed into a museum, preserving its characteristic features in the process. The architectural, decorative, and standard elements that were added fit well within the overall design, and provide a museological context. Purchased by the municipality in 2008, the church was considerably revamped before the museum finally opened its doors to the public in October 2011.

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MUSO is a museum that is wholly part of regional reality. It innovates and amazes with a creative approach to the dissemination and promotion of our collective memory, as well as the living expression of our social environment. From church to museum This video presentation* shows the various stages of the transformation from church to unique cultural institution. It was produced by the Réseau MONTMUSÉE, under the supervision of the Cellule régionale d’expertise en museologie (regional museology expertise group), with financial support from Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine du Québec, and a subsidy by the CRÉ de la Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent.

*Readers of the printed material can order the video presentation from the MUSO.

Where did the name MUSO come from?

© Ken Lyons

In the midst of acquiring its permanent site in downtown Salaberry-de-Valleyfield (former United Church, corner of Dufferin and Grande-Île), the Musée de société des Deux-Rives wanted to rethink its name to better represent its mission – that of a museum at the service of society, in the image of its people. A short, simple name was finally adopted, one that celebrates the efforts made over the past 30 years by people who shaped the renown and professionalism of the institution.

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MU for MUSEUM SO for SOCIETY

© Christine Barrette

The two abbreviations make up the new MUSO acronym, a name that is easy to retain. The MUSO name is pleasing to the eyes and ears, easily remembered… and will assuredly make its presence felt within our community and beyond! To build the bridge to the past, in reference to a region that is surrounded by water and stories featuring local players of regional history, the words Deux-Rives (Two-Shores) are still part of the museum’s full name and appear in all our communications. The bright red colour reflects the museum’s bold commitment to its region, to a different, vivid way of presenting historic, artistic and cultural contents! Red also means that the MUSO will be at the heart of regional development. Finally, red beautifully complements the grey colour of the building!

There, MUSO bids you welcome to your Musée de société des Deux-Rives!

The living expression of our society

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2014 SCHEDULE AND RATES

Business hours

Administration: Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM, and 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM

Museum: September 4, 2014 to June 19, 2015 : Thursday to Sunday, 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM Open on public holidays (except December 25 and January 1)

Guided visits, workshops and organized activities upon reservation

Rate schedule

Museum visit or walking tour

Adults: $7.00

Seniors (65 and over): $5.00

Students (12-25 with student card): $3.50

Wheelchair access $3.50 (no access to exhibitions in the church)

Members: Free

Children 11 and under: Free

Families (2 adults and 2 or 3 children): $12.00

Groups of 10 or more without guide: $5.00

Groups of 10 or more with guide: $5.50

Museum visit and walking tour

Adults: $12.00

Seniors (65 and over): $8.00

Students (12-25 with student card): $6.50

Members: Free

Children 11 and under: Free

Families (2 adults and 2 children or 1 adult and 3 children): $15.00

Groups of 10 or more: $10.00

School groups and city camps (90-minute or 130-minute workshop)

Per workshop/per person $4.50

For two workshops/per person $8.00 Groups:

One free admission per 15 paid admissions

Accompanying parent/adult: $3.50

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How to find the MUSO

Photo credit: Guy Nolan

From Montreal or Ottawa (via Highway 40)

Take highway 540 to Highway 20 West

Take exit 14 to Salaberry-de-Valleyfield

Cross Mgr-Langlois bridge

At the first traffic light, turn right onto Rue Alexandre

At the second traffic light, turn left onto Rue Dufferin

The MUSO is on your left, at the first traffic light (corner of Rue Grande-Île)

From Quebec City or Montreal South Shore (Highway 30)

Take exit 13 on Highway 530 (extension of Highway 30)

Take exit 5 (Blvd. Mgr. Langlois/Coteau-du-Lac)

Turn left at the first traffic light (Blvd. Hébert or Route 132)

At the traffic circle, take the second exit to the right (Rue Victoria Est)

Turn right onto Avenue du Centenaire, which turns into Rue Grande-Île at Rue Dufferin

Turn right onto Rue Dufferin (we are on the left-hand side at this intersection).

From Ontario (Highway 20)

Take Highway 401 East, (becomes Highway 20 East in Quebec)

Take exit 14 towards Salaberry-de-Valleyfield

Cross Mgr-Langlois bridge

At the first traffic light, turn right onto Rue Alexandre

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