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Curé Labelle’s time, 1868 to 1891, was one of great change in Ste Agathe. While the town grew, the forests almost disappeared and along with them went species of wildlife we’ll never know. When Jacques Cartier first visited the St. Lawrence River in the 1500’s, he reported fauna of much greater variety than we find today. His chronicler made particular mention of the large number of seals that lived in the St. Lawrence valley. The horsehead, or grey seal, is mentioned, along with its smaller cousin, the harbour (phoca)or dotar.

In 1894 Harper’s Magazine carried an article about the Laurentians by McGill University principal Sir William Dawson. A young nurse in New York, upon reading it, decided that she had to visit, and set off to Ste. Agathe. Her name was Elizabeth Wand, and her seven year love-affair with our area is documented in her memoirs. For the entire article, click here: http://www.ballyhoo.ca/history/FreshAirandCleanWater.shtml

As the economy of the lower Laurentians evolved after the start of settlement in the 1830s, certain areas thrived and grew, or withered and dwindled at different times.

The Laurentians are situated in the Grenville geological province, a slowly moving land mass that collided with the Canadian Shield a billion years ago. It is precambrian. That means that is it was formed before there were any signs of animal life. The cambrian period began with the first signs of animal life only 650,000,000 years ago. For the entire article, click here: http://www.ballyhoo.ca/history/InTheBeginning.shtml

When American Hezekiah Clark arrived in the area of Lachute on the North River in the 1790s with his family and other pioneers, it was a wilderness. Settled by Americans who had been uncomfortable living with seigneurial law, and Scots moving up the North River from the St. Andrews East area, a village soon developed along the river near the rapids. But it wasn’t until the coming of the railway that the village became an important centre.

Pioneers trekked on foot and by ox-cart from Berthierville and l’Assomption to the wilderness that would become Rawdon. These people of Scots, English, French, and mostly Irish ancestry arrived as early as 1817. Seen in the foreground is local historian Beverly Copping Prud’homme, a descendant of the Coppings who came in 1819. Beverly fondly remembers her grandfather’s steam-run mill.

1) In 1873, Shawville became a separate municipality. Out of which township was it created? a) Carleton. b) Clarendon. c) Clarence. d) Shaw. 2) Which group was the first to settle in the Shawville area? a) Irish Catholics from County Wexford. b) Irish Protestants from County Tipperary. c) Scottish Presbyterians from Lowland Scotland. d) German Loyalists from Upstate New York..

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

Christ Church Aylmer is Aylmer's oldest original church building. The church's foundation stone was laid in 1843. Our long history reflects the history of Aylmer itself. This page outlines the history of Aylmer and the church, starting in the 17th century. The Ottawa Valley (Eastern Ontario and Western Québec, commonly called l’Outaouais) was an important trading route in the history of the development of Canada. Fur traders used the Ottawa River to get into the hinterland to trade for fur goods.

Originally this was an inn and stopping place for Ottawa River travellers. It is believed to have been originally owned by André Galipeau, who was active in parish, school and municipal affairs. Indeed, the inn served as a meeting place for the local village council until other public buildings became available.

In stories about death, funerals and wakes have a special place. Georges Newberry of Calumet Island heard this story from his old parents:

The Wake of Dan O’Brien The Irish tradition of the wake is not only a special family reunion in honour of the dead: it is also a period of transition. Those who died are not quite out of this world, and not quite in the next. Clifford Robillard described one such wake:

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

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.

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.

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.