La Tour de Lessivage / The Digester Tower

The Digester Tower is the remnant of a massive industrial complex and a landmark of technological innovation in Canada. It was part of a sulphite mill that began operation in 1888 and used revolutionary chemical pulp technology invented by George Millen, an associate of the E. B. Eddy Company. Built in 1901, the tower introduced vertical rather than horizontal wood digestion and proved its worth during 71 years of production. In the 1970s, after the pulp industry moved away from the riverbank, the tower was preserved to honour one of Canada's most important 19th-century paper manufacturers. During redevelopment of the site in the 1980s for the Canadian Museum of Civilization, archaeologists uncovered important industrial foundations and many artifacts. The history of the site is closely tied to Ezra Butler Eddy, who migrated from Vermont to Hull, now Gatineau, in 1854 with his wife, Zarda Diana Arnold. After first making wooden matchsticks, Eddy turned to sawmilling in 1858 and built an enormous fortune over the next decade. As the lumber industry declined in the 1880s, he shifted into pulp and paper and became a pioneer in that industry.

Quebec · Canada