Located at the edge of the lower Laurentians on the picturesque Rivière du Nord, Saint-Jérôme is often called the “Capital of the Laurentians”. With a population of 60,000, including the surrounding sectors of Bellefeuille, Lafontaine, and Saint-Antoine, the town is an important regional administrative and service centre, with a strong retail and industrial base.
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A number of railway companies built lines in the Laurentians during the railway boom of the second half of the nineteenth century. In time, two companies would serve the region -- Canadian Pacific, and, to a lesser extent, Canadian National.
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This heritage trail leads to historic settlements and pioneer landmarks between the Ottawa River and the Laurentian highlands.
American settlers founded a colony where the North River joins the Ottawa in about 1785. British homesteaders later put ashore here and walked north to land grants where today we find the communities of Lachute, Harrington, Lakefied, Morin Heights and Arundel.
The Lanaudière Heritage Trail leads to heritage sites and historic settlements in Quebec’s Lanaudière region, between the foothills of the Laurentians and the lowlands of the St. Lawrence River.
By the beginning of the 20th century, there were hundreds of covered bridges all across Quebec. Today the province numbers just over ninety, some built as late as the 1950s. In the Laurentians, there are six covered bridges, all in the Upper Laurentians, and all except one are well north of Mont Tremblant. In the heyday of the covered bridge, most villages had at least one; some had several. They dotted the back roads as well, crossing brooks and rivers of all sizes. Very few, however, have survived the ravages of time.
ST. ANDREWS EAST
The municipality of Saint-André-d’Argenteuil, which includes the former villages of St. Andrews East (Saint- André-Est) and Carillon and the parish of Saint-André-d’Argenteuil, is a wonderful place to spend a day or two. There is so much historic architecture in this area, and amid such a lovely setting, that visitors will have no trouble finding sights to see. 