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Hillsborough Gypsum
During the Lower Carboniferous Period, oceans periodically flooded low-lying parts of the Maritimes Basin to create the Windsor Sea. When sea level dropped and the oceans retreated from the continent, the dry conditions caused the remaining salt water to evaporate, leaving concentrated minerals in the form of carbonate and evaporate rocks such as gypsum, potash, and halite. Hillsborough was once covered by the Windsor Sea and has a rich background in geological and mineral exploitation. Gypsum deposits around the village were important for its prosperity in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Albert Manufacturing Company was established in Hillsborough in the 1850s with a milling operation for processing gypsum. Gypsum products were shipped locally and to the United States. The completion of the Intercolonial Railway in 1876 opened up the Canadian market and trade rapidly increased. By 1912, the mill was the largest of its kind in Canada. The Canadian Gypsum Company purchased the mill from the Albert Manufacturing Company in 1930 and operated until 1980.
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Millions of tons were exported around the world. There is still an abundant supply of gypsum close to Hillsborough. Gypsum dry products such as agriculture gypsum, wallboard, plaster-of-paris, and dental plaster are always in demand. The storage silos still stand at the river's edge.
