A recently restored heritage site along a popular hiking trail at Meech Lake lies less than a tank of gas away from downtown Ottawa. Found on a 3-kilometre loop from parking lot P11 in Gatineau Park, the Carbide Willson Ruins are nestled in the forest and surrounded by streams of water. The ruins are the remains of a fertilizer plant built by Thomas L. Willson in 1913. Wilson envisioned generating fertilizer in the building before he passed away in 1915 from a heart attack. The National Capital Commission (NCC) spent the past months rehabilitating the property and adding new interpretation plaques to highlight the history of the site. “We’ve also made the site more accessible with stairs to this gorgeous lookout. We have this great view of the ruins behind us, and we’ve also made the trail more sustainable. It was very prone to erosion,” Calina Ellwand, the manager of public programs and communications for the NCC, said. “We’ve ensured that the trail will be able to withstand the heavy visitation that we get here. We get over 40,000 visitors a year to this site.” Vistor Helene Simmons visited the site with her grandson. “We discover something every time we come in the park. It’s a beautiful place for people to come and discover their environment. It’s very special,” Simmons said. Husband and wife Marie Schingh and Warren Place have been biking and hiking this trail for about 40 years. They say they are glad to see the improvements. “I actually grew up here in this area and we’ve come here a lot,” said Place. “We saw that NCC had improved it and made it safer. It has been closed for a while, so we thought we’ll come and see what they did. It’s all very nice and it’s accessible. It’s great.” Visitors say they enjoy the reopened, rehabilitated site and admire the ruins from a new angle that they’ve never seen before. “It’s gorgeous. The view from that side it’s just gorgeous,” said Schingh. “We’ve always seen this side. Over on that side you can see all the windows and the frames are still there and of course you’ve got the waterfall right there. It’s a really nice new view.” The NCC says the estimated project budget is around $1 million. “Obviously it’s very exposed to the elements, the rushing water so we did stabilize the ruins well with new cement so that it’s hopefully going to help it last for many generations to come,” said Ellwand.
