Franco-Ontarian village becomes vacated following a geological discovery

The ghost town of Lemieux, which borders the Larose Forest and lies between the villages of Casselman, St-Isidor and Bourget, was established in 1850 to take advantage of a potential forestry industry. The community along the South Nation River, however, had no idea that this region in Prescott-Russel would eventually fall victim to two of the greatest natural disasters in the history of the United Counties.

Benjamin Richard - Local Journalism Initiative

In 1971, a landslide covering more than 28 hectares took place at the edge of the village, 4.5 km away, on farmland. No one was hurt, but the consequences were still major. Stéphane Drouin, a retired teacher, discusses the experience of his parents-in-law, Marcel and Huguette Leroux, who were expropriated from the land that was affected: “The landslide for my parents-in-law was quite a catastrophe. It fell in... they call it an 'act of God' disaster, so it's difficult to be compensated for the loss of land that occurred there.”

John Mesman, Executive Director of South Nation Conservation (SNC) elaborates further on the consequences of the natural disaster: “That event in particular destroyed 28 hectares of farmland and also added over 6 million meters square of sediment into the South Nation River which ended up damming the river for months and disrupted local ecosystems.” This event exposed the risks facing the village and calls into question residential development choices.à

The relocalization of the village
“The SNC acted proactively in this scenario. We completed several geotechnical studies. We also mapped potential areas of risks and natural hazards in this area. An effort [was also made] to establish some developmental setbacks to limit construction in some of these ‘at risk’ areas. We also, after this event, eventually relocated the entire town of Lemieux. We also built a 2 km long dike called the Seguinbourg berm to protect the town of Casselman. And obviously through this process, we collaborated with local governments to increase public awareness but also to make sure that the area was being monitored correctly” explains Mesman. In 1991, the SNC and the government offered to buy the land and help relocate the residents. However, the latter showed at first some hesitation. “It had been 20 years and we forget quickly. So it was far from people's minds, and to be told that there was danger, again, when it had been 20 years since there had been almost anything. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as we thought. Maybe we can stay,” adds the retired teacher.

Alas, in 1993, another landslide, this time smaller than the one in 1971, hit the now abandoned village. However, one man was caught in the landslide when the street he was driving on collapsed beneath his car. He escaped with a few serious fractures.
Since then, the village has been nothing more than a graveyard surrounded by nature. The SNC continues to analyze the area for geological changes, especially as it is now 30 years since a landslide comparable to those of 1971 and 1993 occurred in the area