Articles

OLD BARRACKS, CARILLON
Sometimes called "the Barracks", as it was commandeered by the British army and used to house soldiers during the Rebellion of 1837, this building was originally erected by General C. J. Forbes as a warehouse to protect equipment serving the old Carillon Canal. Later, it became the Sovereign Hotel, and in 1934, with the help of Dr. Maude Abbott and Dr.
LACHUTE
This place, the chef-lieu of the county of Argenteuil, is located on the North River, 9 miles from the Ottawa and 44 north of Montreal. It is also on the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, -- formerly the Q. M. O. & O. Railway.
GORE
This township is bounded on the north by Mille Isles, east by the Seignory of Two Mountains, south by the Seignory of Argenteuil, and west by Wentworth, and contains about 23,660 acres and the usual allowance for highways. It has several beautiful little lakes, and much fine scenery.
COMPETING MIGRATIONS
Two competing waves of migrationto the Laurentians got under wayin the early 1840s, according to historian Serge Laurin. One, says Laurin, wasFrench-Canadian and Catholic, the other wasEnglish-Canadian and Protestant. Both occurred at precisely the same time; both followed different routes.
MONT-LAURIER
Curé Antoine Labelle could not have developed the upper Laurentians if he had not been empowered and supported by Ignace Bourget, Bishop of Montreal. Bourget was one of the most powerful clerics in Quebec during the 19th century. From his inauguration in 1840 to his death in 1885, he led the Quebec clergy in filling a leadership vacuum in French Canada. The Laurentian colonisation and the creation of the towns north of Ste. Agathe were among the many accomplishments of the clergy, but they could not tolerate criticism.
LACHUTE & BARRON LAKE
Lachute is at the centre of the early English-speaking settlements of the Laurentians, and many historic trails lead back to it. There is no mystery as to where its name came from, though. Both La Riviere du Nord and La Chute appeared on maps made during the French regime, prior to 1760 and the property was designated as a seigneury as early as 1682. All the same, the land where the town is today and some of its surrounding area was once described as Lane's Purchase, and was first officially called the Parish of St-Jerusalem.
LAURENTIANS QUIZ #5: BROWNSBURG & CHATHAM
1) Brownsburg is named in whose honour? a) William Brown, who established a brewery there, the first in Canada. b) George Brown, an early pioneer who built a mill. c) Jeremiah Brown, a Methodist preacher. d) None of the above. The town is actually named after a village in England.
ON MOSQUITOS, BLACK FLIES AND OTHER PESTS (1922)
The following passage, by naturalist and travelogue writer T. Morris Longstreet, was written long before the days of modern insect repellents and nylon tents with ultra-fine mesh.It contains valuable information and advicefor campers venturing deep into the Laurentian woods in the month of June.Matthew Farfan, Editor
ST. MUNGO'S CHURCH, CUSHING
St. Mungo's Church (Presbyterian), a solid structure, built after the fashion of the old style Scotch country-parish churches, stands in a fine position on the bank of the Ottawa River, about midway between the villages of Grenville and Carillon.
GEORGE BROWN AND BROWNSBURG
This pleasant little village or hamlet, which has recently sprung into some prominence on account of being the site of the Cartridge Factory, and near the lately discovered granite quarry, was, in early years, made a place of no little importance by the erection of Brown's mills.
ANGLICAN CHURCH, ST.ANDREWS EAST
Though considerable pains were taken to obtain a more complete history of the Anglican Church here, they were fruitless... Itinerant ministers visited St. Andrews, and preached in the early years of her history; but the first church formed was the Church of England, by the Rev. Richard Bradford, as early as 1811.
CALUMET
This place is located on the Ottawa, about three and a half miles west of Grenville, and it is doubtful if the scenery around it is surpassed in beauty by that of any other village in the province. It is situated on a high, level tract of ground less than half a mile in breadth, which is bounded by the river on the south, and on the north by a mountain rising abruptly, and running parallel with the river.
TAMARACOUTA SCOUT CAMP
Tamaracouta Scout Reserve was opened as a Scout Camp in 1912 with funds provided by a group of generous citizens led by Colonel E. A. Whitehead. Originally a farm, the property formerly belonged to the Dawson family of Mille Isles.
THE LAND OF THE LAURENTIANS
When most people—especially Montrealers—talk about going to “the Laurentians” they are referring to the rugged but pristine recreational and wilderness areas in southwestern Quebec, including the impressive ski hills and trails in and around Saint-Sauveur, Val-David and Mont-Tremblant.
LAURENTIANS QUIZ #4: NAMES BY THE NUMBERS
1) Deux-Montagnes refers to which of the following? a) A lake. b) A town. c) An MRC. d) All of the above. 2) Which of the following is a lake in the Laurentians? a) Lac des Six îles. b) Lac des Seize îles. c) Lac des Soixante îles. d) All of the above.
LAURENTIANS QUIZ #4: NAMES BY THE NUMBERS (ANSWERS)
1) d) All of the above. 2) b) Lac des Seize îles, between Morin Heights and Arundel. 3) c) The municipality is situated at the northeast extremity of the old Milles-Isles Seigneurie, which took its name from the Milles-Isles or (Milles-îles) River, which was famous for its many islands, and which separates the Laval Island from the north shore. 4) a) The lake was christened by Saint-Jérôme magistrate Benjamin-Antoine Testard de Montigny in honour of his seven sons.
FINDING FAMILY (WITH THE HELP OF THE RAWDON HISTORICAL SOCIETY)
October 5, 2004 -- As an amateur genealogist, I felt duly intimidated trying to conquer Canadian genealogy from Texas! When my father, Richard GRAY died in 1999, I found several documents linking him to Rawdon. With a hope and a prayer, I contacted Beverly Prud’homme at the Rawdon Historical Society to see if they had any information on the GRAY family from there. I sent what little information I had. My father was the son of George William GRAY & Alice Elizabeth WARD; George’s parents were John William GRAY, and his wife was Bertha Jane HIGGINS. That didn’t get us very far.
MASON’S FALLS, RAWDON
The first settlement at Rawdon occurred in the lower corners of the township early in the nineteenth century possibly between 1815 and 1820.
SIR WILFRID LAURIER (1841-1919), PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, one of Canada's most illustrious Prime Ministers was born in the village of Saint-Lin in the Laurentians in 1841. Laurier studied law at McGill University where he received his degree in 1864. The young lawyer practiced in Montreal for a few years, but soon moved to the Eastern Townships, where he served as editor of a small newspaper in L’Avenir.