Sale of lots at the Timmins townsite, Labour Day, 1911.
Pictured is part of the crowd attending the public auction of lots in the fledgling town of Timmins. An outdoor lunch booth can be seen in the background. The driving force behind the development of the new town was Noah Timmins, who had made his fortune with the LaRose mine in Cobalt and was now the chief owner of the major gold mine in the district, the Hollinger. Timmins chose the location, laid out the pattern, put up the lots for sale, and gave his name to the town. The lots sold quickly - at prices ranging from seventy-five to one thousand dollars for commercial lots and five to one hundred dollars for residential lots - because of the desirable nature of the site, and because the location near the two biggest gold mines in the area (the Hollinger and the Mclntyre) seemed to assure the town's future.
Courtesy: Peters Collection, Public Archives of Ontario.
