In 1914, Portage-du-Fort suffered a disastrous fire. Many of the buildings that survived the conflagration were built of solid stone. Perhaps the most imposing of them is the Reid House, built in 1899 by Patrick Ratchford, a stonemason from Portage-du-Fort, for businessman George Emmerson Reid.
The E. B. Eddy match factory was set up in 1851 on the site of Philemon Wright’s early settlement (circa 1800) called Wrightsville (Hull). Wright built a saw mill and a grist mill here, and was the first to construct a timber and lumber raft which would sail down the Ottawa River past Montreal to Quebec City.
Wakefield, set along a beautiful section of the Gatineau River, has become a getaway place for Ottawa M.P.s. This old house and work shed were built by Robert Earle, a prominent entrepreneur and builder in Wakefield, in the 1880s. Robert let his brother Arthur take over the house as the latter had a larger family.
This is one of Chelsea’s four original hotels, all of which were operated by Irishmen in the late 19th century. Built c.1870, it was destroyed by fire in 1900 and rebuilt the next year. It was named for one of its original owners, Johnny Dunn, a former log driver. [Until recently, it was] still an operating hotel in this recreational area north of Hull.
This cheese factory at Stark’s Corners, just east of Portage-du-Fort, is one of many which sprang up in the 1880s and 1890s as the Pontiac shifted from grain crops to dairy farming. This was probably the largest [cheese factory] in the county.
Donald Campbell was the founder of Campbell’s Bay. A pioneer farmer, he received his land grant in 1851. He also ran the local saw mill. The coming of the Pontiac Pacific Junction Railway in 1886 gave a boost to the village, and by the 1920s, Campbell’s Bay had become the county seat.
Driving through the forests and farmland of Pontiac County, one comes upon a large church surrounded by a few houses. Catholic churches in Quebec towns dominate the landscape, but this one is different.The headstones in the adjoining cemetery bear inscriptions such as Doyle, McGuire, Quinn, -- almost all Irish.
Spruceholme (204 Principale Street) is the splendid former home of George Bryson Jr. and his wife Helen Craig. Built in 1875, this large stone mansion is said to have been the winter retreat of the Bryson family, who hosted many distinguished guests, including Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Prime Minister of Canada. Spruceholme is now home to an inn and restaurant.
Hot ashes thrown into dry grass in the early afternoon of August 10, 1921, are said to have ignited the fire which started beside Holt’s livery stables, located on the south side of Main Street, just east of Bancroft.
