Point Anne, Ontario

Point Anne is a ghost town on the Bay of Quinte near Belleville, Ontario, Canada. It was the birthplace of hockey greats Bobby Hull and Dennis Hull. Also Painter Manley Mac Donald. During the late 19th and early 20th century, the Portland cement industry was positively booming. Portland cement, now a staple in today's building industry, first hit the markets in the late 1800s and instantly captured worldwide attention. The product was much harder and far more durable than the earlier lime mortars and the world couldn't get enough of it.

In 1905, the Belleville Portland Cement Company built a new plant and company town just south of the town of Belleville. Three years later, another company, the Lehigh Portland Cement Company followed with a second plant and company town 3 kilometres east of the first plant. The following year, in 1909, the Canada Portland Cement Company, which had been quietly buying up as many companies as it could, acquired both plants. In 1914, the company consolidated operations and closed the older of the two plants. The sole remaining plant, Canada Cement Plant No. 5, remained the community's only major employer for the next 60 years.

The Village of Point Anne, lies approximately 4 miles east of Belleville Ontario, Canada, South off Hwy #2 . The original Point Anne Lane was constructed in 1837. It proceeded straight up the hill instead of around it as the s turn does today. The new road was built in 1932. Canada Cement Company (Lafarge) commenced operating in the area of Point Anne after merging with 3 smaller cement companies. It was then called Canada Cement in 1914. In 1936 the original plant was enlarged then again in 1948 and 1953. It produced 17 million bags of Portland Cement a year. Most of the people of Point Anne worked for Canada Cement. Point Anne was a company Village, with a Club house, Tennis courts, Baseball Diamond with cement dug outs and scoreboard. Also a large out door Hockey rink with boards, which the 2 famous Hull boys used as kids. Also a nice swimming beach and of course the fishing boat houses. The east end of the village or Lehi named after the Lehi Cement Company once operated at the east end before Canada Cement took over it. The west end was known as the upper end and when too almost Horse Point. There were several private homes west of the cement plant. There where 6 large houses along the gravel road going too the baseball park it was known as foreman's row. Further west along this road there were 4 duplexs on the south side 2 single and 4 more duplexs on the north side. The street was referred to as Hunktown and was primarily occupied by Hungarians and other Europeans.

Bay street was south of Back street with 2 duplexs on each side of the road. Centre Street ran parallel to back street and Front Street. It was all connected by gravel roads. Front Street had 16 Duplex's half on the north side other half on south part. The water and hydro for Front and centre street was supplied by the Cement company. On Front Street on the North side was a large hill that made great sleigh hill for the village kids to use. There were 2 schools a Public school built in 1909 (now an apartment building ) in the west end, and a 2 room catholic school built in 1955. After the closure of the plant in the early 1970s all of the company houses were bulldozed down along with the club house tennis courts hockey rink and baseball diamond and fields. The roads to the beach were torn up and blocked.

There are several private houses still around Point Anne with a lot of the families that lived there for generations. St. John's Anglican church (1913 -1974) and hall was demolished shorting after the plant closed. There was an old Catholic Church in the west end from 1910 to 1954 then moved to St Anne's Catholic church (1956 - 1973) and school (1955 - 1973)it was sold to a private family. The United Church (1920 - 1973) was demolished in 1990. In the west end there was a Rouluf's grocery store 1922 - 1947, and the Mc Connell Grocery store, which opened in 1917 and closed in 1955. There was a Barber shop at the Mc Connell store ran by Herb Van Order. Laurie Bradshaw was the barber after Mr. Van Order. There was also the Mac Donald General Store from 1926 to 1946. It was located where the Thurlow Fire hall is now and also had a gas pump. In 1946 JW Mac Laurin took over the Mac Donald Store. It lasted till 1957 when it closed. There was an Orange Lodge built in 1934, burned in 1947 but rebuilt; it is now a private home. The Post Office was ran by Donald Mac Donald just west of the school from 1906 to 1946. Then John Mac Laurin took over from 1946 to 1957. Then Annie Guay took over in 1957 out of their house on front street till 1970. Point Anne's demise came swiftly and abruptly. The plant was closed in 1973, following a merger between the Canada Cement Company and Lafarge Cement North America in 1970. All operations were transferred to the newer plant in nearby Bath.

It was all over for Point Anne. Some of the homes and other buildings were sold to residents. Those that couldn't be sold, along with the plant, were subsequently demolished.

With few employment prospects available in Point Anne, many of the residents chose to leave. Today, a portion of the old section remains partially occupied while a new incarnation of Point Anne slowly inches northward towards Belleville. Lafarge operated the site as an aggregate facility until the spring of 2009. The facility is now operated by Coco Paving.

Coordinates: 44°09′27″N 77°17′38″W / 44.15750°N 77.29389°W