Very, very long ago – over a billion years at least – the first mountain range on Earth was squeezed upward by the movements of tectonic plates deep beneath the surface of the planet. These first mountains are still here, although altered by ancient volcanic activity and worn and scraped by several ice ages. In Quebec, this mountainous area is called the Laurentians.
Morin Heights has been celebrated as a centre for cross-country skiing for many years. Much of this reputation can be credited to the Viking Ski Club, established permanently in Morin Heights since the 1950s and active in that part of the Laurentians since its beginnings in the winter of 1929-30.
The Argenteuil Agricultural Society, best known for its sponsorship of the Lachute Fair, celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2000. Founded in 1826, the Society has held an annual fair ever since. Today, the Lachute Fair is one of the oldest continuous fairs in Canada.
Author’s note: This is the product of the combined efforts of three people. Without the assistance of Daniel Parkinson as researcher and editor, this would be just another history of Rawdon. Thanks to his unwavering support and generous input, I am able to claim that this is the most accurate history of Rawdon available. The second person is Glenn Cartwright, who supplied information, leads to pertinent documents, and who was responsible for this article being posted on the Internet. To these two gentlemen I extend my thanks and appreciation.
Before the mid-19th century, there were only seasonal Indigenous hunters in the Morin Heights region, most likely Mohawks.Government minister Augustin-Norbert Morin came with his Indigenous guide, Simon, in 1850 to survey the area.
The quiet dirt road is canopied by large maple and elm trees. The edge of the road drops off towards small lakes and marshes bordered by poplars and willows, with dogwood and reeds along the shores. On the other side, the low, rolling hills of this, the beginning of the Laurentian Shield, are tree-covered, as well. There are no squared log farmhouses, no cleared fields, no domestic animals, no barns, no schoolhouse, no mail delivery, no blacksmith, no stores, no Orange Lodge, no community dances, no picnics, no children playing… There is a church and cemetery -- that’s all.
As cross-country skiing grew in popularity, and after World War I, overtook showshoeing as the winter sport of choice in Montreal, improvements continued to be made to the sport. The most obvious was the invention of the ski tow. It meant no more puffing up the hill for what felt like hours just to whiz down in what felt like minutes!
The town of Val David, the location of the first settlements north of Ste- Adele, was once known by t its post office, Mont Morin. Named for A.-N. Morin, it opened in 1873. The first few families, the Ménards and the Dufresnes, were larger than life, both figuratively and physically. Two Menard brothers married Dufresne sisters and the Dufresne brother did right by a Menard sister. It is no surprise that the Ménards' mother became known far and wide as La Mère Ménard. Smaller than her sons, she was about six feet tall and was a woman to be reckoned with.
In the early 1600s, when Samuel de Champlain first explored the St Lawrence beyond Hochelaga, the North American continent was peopled with a series of small nations with amorphous borders. These peoples had highly ritualized communications among them and long-standing enemies and trading partners. Champlain could not know that the Algonquin nations that he met were in the middle of border skirmishes with the Iroquois nations to the south, but he realised quickly that he had to choose sides when his meeting party was attacked.
Thousands of tributaries, streams, springs and small lakes contribute to the headwaters of the North River system. Most of them seem to bubble right out of the ground as though the Laurentian Mountains were a place where water itself was created. This extraordinary system ties the whole lower Laurentians together in its sustaining web, belying the arbitrary-sounding name that it bears. Ironically the North is the southernmost river in the Laurentians. It is also the least navigable and generally runs at a higher elevation.