Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Avon Gold Mines Ltd.
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- Oldham Sterling Gold Company Ltd.
- Acadia Gold Mines Ltd.
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1903-1955
History
Gold was first discovered at Oldham, Nova Scotia in 1861, and was actively mined by a group of British capitalists under the name Oldham Sterling Gold Company from 1870 until it went into insolvency. The mine was then bought by Mr. B.G. Gray of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and in 1903 acquired by William Arthur Brennan (1851-1916), a journalist and publisher from Summerside, Prince Edward Island. W.A. Brennan managed the mine via correspondence with hired supervisors, including his younger son Charles Victor Brennan in 1908-1909. Upon William Brennan’s death in 1916, the mine was inherited by his wife and 2 sons, Rosara Lefurgey Brennan (1858-1942), Arthur Roland Brennan (1882-1951), and C. Victor (1887-1961), with Rosara’s interests later passing to her daughter, Dorothy J. Sharp (b.1888). At the time of his father’s death, Victor was a mining engineer in British Columbia so the mine was managed by Arthur R. with his brother’s advice. The mine operated sporadically under the name Acadia Gold Mines Ltd. in the 1920s but suffered financial difficulties. After a few attempts, the family sold shares in the property to a Montreal group of investors under the name Avon Gold Mines Ltd. in 1935, to raise operating capital. Arthur R. Brennan continued as mine manager, with brother Victor’s advice, and corresponded with on-site personnel while operating his Journal Publishing Company in Summerside, PE. In 1943, Avon Gold Mines Ltd. ceased operations due to wartime labour shortage and inability to pay their bills. In the early 1950s, ownership of the mining properties at Oldham reverted back to Arthur’s son William R. Brennan, who was unable to find new investors. By 1955 the mine was closed, and assets sold.
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Internal structures/genealogy
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Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
2020-02-20 created
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
The contents of the fonds.
Heatherington, A. A Practical Guide for Miners, Tourists, and Investors, and All Persons Interested in the Development of the Gold Fields of Nova Scotia. Montreal: John Lovell. 1868. https://novascotia.ca/archives/meninmines/archives.asp?ID=256&Page=200502882&Language=
Malcom, W. Memoir 385: Gold Fields of Nova Scotia. Based on the work by E. R. Farlbault. Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada. 1929. http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/253106.pdf
“Active Gold Districts.” Virtual Museum of Canada. Accessed March 20, 2018. http://novascotiagold.ca/theme/exploitation_de_lor-mining/districts_auriferes_actifs-active_gold_districts-eng.php
“Oldham Gold District.” Virtual Museum of Canada. Accessed March 20, 2018. http://novascotiagold.ca/theme/exploitation_de_lor-mining/oldham-eng.php
Johnston, Ian G., “Brennan, William Arthur” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography vol. 14 (Toronto: University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003) accessed October 22, 2018. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/brennan_william_arthur_14E.html
Maintenance notes
Karen White