Articles

The City of Gatineau, in collaboration with the Aylmer Heritage Association, has released a new publication spotlighting the treasures of Aylmer’s Old Village.

Ralph Horner, a native of Shawville, had been ordained as a Methodist minister in the 1880s, but could not accept the “restriction” of a Circuit Ministry. As an evangelist he embraced the doctrines of the Holiness Movement, a fundamentalist movement from the United States. Eventually his refusal to abide by the Montreal Conference rules, and to curb excessive behaviour and claims by his adherents, resulted in a break with authorities, and he was deposed from the Ministry in 1895.

There are several small private cemeteries in the Wakefield area, possibly due to the fact that none of the churches within the community had property enough to provide for burial. An area for a cemetery was donated by George Hall, on land adjoining his farm property on the outskirts of the village. This thus became the earliest community burial ground, holding the headstones of many of the original Protestant settlers (including William Fairbairn).

Two cemeteries, within a mile of each other, in Chelsea, Quebec, are current success stories. Nestled in the Gatineau Hills, half an hour’s drive from Canada’s capital, the villages of Chelsea and Old Chelsea offer a gateway to recreation in the National Capital Commission’s Gatineau Park, and a pleasant village core area for residents and visitors to the Municipality of Chelsea.

PREFACE “The history of a country is the narrative or story of the character and conduct of its prominent citizens or inhabitants.” J. L. Gourlay, History of the Ottawa Valley, 1896.

1) Since 2002, Hull has been a part of which Outaouais city? a) Aylmer b) Gatineau c) Chelsea 2) What momentous step in the development of Hull took place in 1845? a) The City of Hull was established. b) The municipality of Hull Township was created. c) The town of Hull established its fire department. 3) Who is considered the founder of Hull? a) Sir William Hull, an officer in the British Army. b) Philemon Wright, a timber merchant. c) Ruggles Wright, who invented the timber slide.

1) b. 2) b. 3) b. 4) b. 5) a. 6) c. 7) c. 8) b. 9) a. 10) b.

In 1792, the Municipality of Clarendon was planned and named after a place in Wiltshire, England. After several attempts to have the township surveyed and settled, the government commissioned a retired Bristish Army Officer, Ensign James Prendergast, to undertake this work.

Named after a county in Sussex, England, Chichester is primarily a farming and lumbering community. The municipality was incorporated in 1855 with John B. Poupore as its mayor. The municipality is dominated by two small hamlets: Chichester and Nicabeau. Chichester, located just across the river from Chapeau, was once a thriving community with numerous sawmills, a grist mill, shingle mill, blacksmith shop and two hotels. Chichester now serves as more of a summer resort area, offering a grocery store and garage facilities.

In 1861 Thorne was separated from Clarendon and joined with Leslie to form a new municipality, with James Martin as its first mayor. At that time its population of 465 was made up of people of mixed national origin. Ten years later, when the municipality was separated from Leslie under the mayoralty of John Rennix, it had seen and influx of German settlers. Thorne's main village, Ladysmith, was first called Upper Thorne Centre. Later, the name Danzig was proposed, but in 1902, at the end of the Boer War, the name Ladysmith was chosen to honor a village in South Africa.

Churning butter by hand was tricky; milk was set out in pans, so that the cream could rise. Various types of churns -- dash or cradle churns -- were then used to churn cream. If the butter would not set, this was often blamed on hexing. Butter was stored in barrels in a cool place, and the surplus sold in town. It might take six days to take it there even in an express wagon: two for the trip each way, and two to sell the wooden tubs of butter at the Byward market [in Ottawa]. Eventually, however, butter and cheese were made in small, often cooperative factories.

In celebration of its 150th anniversary in 2005, the Municipality of Clarendon published a booklet titled A Self-Guided Historical Tour of Clarendon, by Jo-Anne Brownlee.

1) What does the statue in the Parc du Draveur in Maniwaki depict? a) A larger-than-life pickerel. b) A man in a birch bark canoe. c) A log driver. d) A giant mosquito. 2) To what does “Pythonga” refer? a) A legendary snake said to inhabit the northern reaches of the Gatineau River. b) The name of a tugboat that once towed logs on the Desert River. c) A type of spruce tree. d) None of the above

1) c. (Draveur is French for log driver). 2) b. (The tugboat is now the main attraction in the Pythonga Theme Park on the Desert River in Maniwaki). 3) a. 4) b. 5) b (The Savoyard bridge, an impressive 73-metre covered bridge). 6) a. 7) a (True). 8) b. 9) c. 10) a. (Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye, of Trois-Rivières, was assigned the task in 1731 of finding the Western sea).

The following is based on information contained in Jo-Anne Brownlee’s excellent booklet, A Self-Guided Historical Tour of Clarendon, published by the Municipality of Clarendon in 2005, and Noms et lieux du Québec : dictionnaire illustré, published by the Commision de toponymie du Québec.

The municipalities of Alleyn and Cawood boast of many beautiful lakes and rivers. Fishing and hunting are excellent, and there are very good snowmobile trails. Danford Lake, located at the intersection of Hwy. 301 and the Harrison/Cawood Road in the north-east end of Pontiac, is the main village. The municipality was erected in 1877. Its first mayor was Robert J.Bradnor. The original settlers, who were mostly of Irish descent, worked in the lumber industry.

Sheen, Esher, Malakoff & Aberdeen Irish people who emigrated to Canada in the 1830's to escape the potato famine and religious persecution were for the most part the settlers of Sheenboro. Some set up homes in the area of McGillvery Lake because there were washouts caused by the spring floods near the Ottawa River.

Before the first European settler arrived, the first nations peoples, the Algonquins and the Iroquois, fought each other for control of the river. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Hudson's Bay Company set up a trading post in the region. The first Europeans settlers established themselves on the south shore of the River Island. In 1840, a church was built at Rapides Paquet, which later became a ferry stop.

In 1611, Nicolas Vignau, a white scout, landed at what is now Portage du Fort with a party of Algonquins. On their way to tribal headquarters at Allumettes Island, they had to portage overland for the first of a series of five difficult cataracts. In 1694, the famous military engineer Louis d'Ailleboust, Sieur de Coulonge, established a fur trading post hear the mouth of the Coulonge River. The stretch of cataracts that led to Fort Coulonge became known as "le portage du fort" and this is how the settlement at the foot of the rapids got its name.

Nicholas d'Ailleboust, Sieur de Coulonge, spent the winter of 1694-95 near the mouth of the Coulonge River and so established one of the first settlements on the Ottawa River. The first trading post was called Fort-Coulonge. In 1760, the Northwest Company took over its management and in 1821, the Fort became the property of the Hudson's Bay Company. Until 1828, it served as the head post on the Ottawa River. The post's 655 acre farm was sold in 1844 and the buildings in 1855. The trading post became the village of Fort-Coulonge situated several kilometres down river.