Nobel, Ontario
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Nobel is a village on the shores of Parry Sound,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada. It is in the Municipality of McDougall in the District of Parry Sound. The community is named after
Alfred Nobel Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( ; ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, inventor, engineer, and businessman. He is known for inventing dynamite, as well as having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes. He also m ...
, the inventor of
dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...
. This village is the administrative office of the Shawanaga First Nation reserve.


History

Nobel was across the Sound from
Depot Harbour Depot Harbour is a ghost town on Wasauksing First Nation, in the Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada. It was once the western terminus of the Canada Atlantic Railway and a busy port on Georgian Bay. Formation and rise In 1891, the Ottawa, ...
; the two towns benefited from the industrialization brought by the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway, later the Canada Atlantic Railway. During the First World War, Nobel was the home of two explosives factories: The British Cordite Limited and Canadian Explosives Ltd. Both sites closed in 1922. Explosives and munitions were also produced at Nobel in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


The British Cordite Ltd, Nobel, Ontario

The British Cordite Limited was built by the Explosives Department of the Imperial Munitions Board to produce
Cordite Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in Britain since 1889 to replace black powder as a military firearm propellant. Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burni ...
. Construction started in late 1916 and production started in mid 1917. The site covered and had 155 buildings. By 30 November 1918 it had produced 21,450,000 lbs (9,738,300 kg) of Cordite.Carnegie, David (1925).


Canadian Explosives Ltd

Canadian Explosives, jointly owned by du Pont, in the USA, and Nobel's Explosives, in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, were already producing Cordite, at Beloeil, for the
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, before World War I. The capacity of this plant was increased one-hundredfold to 350,000 lbs (159,000 kg) of Cordite per month. In addition, in February 1918, they started to build a Cordite plant at Nobel to produce 1,500,000 lbs (681,000 kg) per month. It was finished on 24 August 1918. During peak production 1,000 people were employed, many of them women.


World War 2

At the outbreak of WW2, Defence Industries Limited was founded next to CIL. The plants were operated around the clock and employed 2,000 persons. A typical wage for the winter of 1942-43, for an employee to blend cordite and pack it for shipment to munitions plants elsewhere, was 52 cents per hour.


Orenda Aerospace

In the post-war years
Orenda Engines Orenda Engines was a Canadian aircraft engine manufacturer and parts supplier. As part of the earlier Avro Canada conglomerate, which became Hawker Siddeley Canada, they produced a number of military jet engines from the 1950s through the 1970 ...
had a testing facility, where the
Orenda Iroquois The Orenda PS.13 Iroquois was an advanced turbojet engine designed for military use. It was developed by the Canadian aircraft engine manufacturer Orenda Engines, a part of the Avro Canada group. Intended for the CF-105 Arrow interceptor, ...
turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
engine was being developed. This engine was slated to power the ill-fated
Avro Arrow The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a Delta wing, delta-winged interceptor aircraft designed and built by Avro Canada. The CF-105 held the promise of Mach number, Mach 2 speeds at altitudes exceeding and was intended to serve as the Royal ...
until the project was cancelled by the Diefenbaker government.


Highway 400 realignment

In 2010, a stretch of the new Highway 400 alignment opened up which now bypasses Nobel. Some businesses in the town were affected by the new highway due to a sharp decline in traffic and customers, and had to close down. The former route of Highway 69 through the town was renamed as Nobel Road and reduced in width from four to two lanes, with the decommissioned lanes converted into a recreational
trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...
.Highway 69 construction could prove fatal to roadside businesses
''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
'', December 3, 2010
A new access road for nearby access to Exit 236 of Highway 400 was built, and named Avro Arrow Road.


References


Notes


Sources

* Carnegie, David (1925). ''The History of Munitions Supply in Canada 1914 - 1918''. London, New York, Ontario: Longmans, Green and Co. * lank, H. H. and Williams, E. L. (1982). ''The Du Pont Canada History''. Du Pont Canada. * Reader, W.J. (1970). ''Imperial Chemical Industries: A History''. Volume 1: ''The Forerunners 1870-1926''. London, New York, Toronto:
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
. .


External links


Nobel's Local History
{{authority control Cordite Communities in Parry Sound District Military history of Canada