Historic Towns of Prescott Russell

Calumet

In the 1820s, a man called Charlebois began extracting material from a stone pit near the actual site of Calumet.  The region’s development was also spurred on by the establishment of the railroad in 1877 and the acquisition of J. K. Ward’s sawmill by Robert McIntyre during the 1880s.  The village expanded considerably at that time.  Enough families settled in the region so that the first church (Holy Trinity) was built in 1888 and the first school opened around 1897.  A year later, Saint-Ludger Catholic parish was created.  The village of Calumet, which was part of the Township of Grenville at first, became a municipality in 1918.  In that same year, fire destroyed a great part of the town and since then it has not experienced much development.

Carillon

The actual site of the village of Carillon first served as a portage place for Natives to avoid the rapids of the Long-Sault.  At the end of the 18th century, Philippe Carion established a fur trading post there. Then, the place served as a relay station for travellers.  Settlers came to the region with the construction of the Carillon canal (1827 – 1834) which attracted a large number of Irish workers.  At the same time, Robert McRobb divided the land and many Americans and British settled in the region.  After the inauguration of the canal in 1834, Carillon became a military post with soldiers responsible for the protection of the canal system. In 1959, the construction of Carillon hydroelectric power-station by Hydro-Québec considerably modified the landscape of the village.

Visit historic sites in Carillon

Chute-a-Blondeau

Following the shore of the Ottawa River, the actual site of Chute-à-Blondeau first served as a relay station for native travellers who rested there before proceeding on their way up the Ottawa River. The development of the neighbourhood began in 1804 with the arrival of an American, Daniel B. Wyman, who constructed a flour mill and a sawmill, which were operated by the hydraulic power of the waterfall. William Kirby, from Yorkshire, England joined with Wyman and established a coach service between Point Fortune and L’Orignal. As Chute-à-Blondeau was an important relay station for travellers at that time, Kirby also established a hotel where woodsmen and raftsmen could make a stop-over. The site of Chute-à-Blondeau was greatly affected by the construction of the Carillon hydroelectric power station (1959 to 1964) and the development of Carillon Provincial Park (now known as Voyageur Provincial Park.)

Visit historic sites in Chute-a-Blondeau

Cushing

During the first decades of the 19th century, a few Loyalists left the United States and settled in the region of Cushing which was part of the Township of Chatham at that time.  After the Americans’ arrival, there was an influx of immigrants from Great Britain.  There was no trace of French-speaking settlers in the area until the 1830s.  The small village developed thanks to the efforts of many inhabitants, namely Lemuel Cushing and the Reverend William Mair, who had churches built in the town.  In 1855, the Village became a municipality of the Township of Chatham.  The Loyalist and British immigrants brought their culture with them when they settled in the region.  The charming stone architecture they introduced in Cushing makes it one of the most beautiful villages in the province of Québec.

Visit historic sites in Cushing

Fassett

The small town of Fassett was first known as Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, a parish established in 1855.  The founding of the Fassett Lumber Company in 1905 attracted many families and Saint-Fidele-de-Fassett Catholic parish was created in 1913.  In the early 1950s, Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours became a municipality and was called Fassett.  Located between the Laurentian hills and the Ottawa River, this small village evolves on its own in the shadow of the municipality of Montebello.

Visit historic sites in Fassett

Grenville

The development of the village of Grenville started early in the 19th century with the arrival of a few English soldiers who had served in the British army in Canada.  Then, around 1810, Archibald MacMillan, founder of Grenville, settled in the region.  In 1819, the English soldiers undertook the construction of the Grenville canal which attracted may Irish workers who finally settled in the region after the project was completed.  Between 1857 and 1859, two brothers, John and William Thomas Sikes, had a railroad line built between Grenville and Carillon, two communities which became important economic centres for the region.  In 1876, the village of Grenville became a municipality.  Over 1,000 people lived there at that time.  Unfortunately, the town suffered after the decision for the train connection between Ottawa and Montreal to pass through Lachute instead of Grenville and Carillon.  The economic activity moved north, virtually abandoning the villages along the Ottawa River.  Nonetheless, Grenville remains a welcoming village where beautiful heritage buildings can be seen.

Visit historic sites in Grenville

Hawkesbury

At the end of the 18th century, the Algonquians and Nipissing occupied the actual region of Hawkesbury and camped on the Chenail islands. In 1796, these islands became the property of Nathaniel Hazard Treadwell. Then, in 1803, they were acquired by three businessmen - Mears, Pattee and Shutter - who constructed a modest sawmill. Five years later, the Hamilton brothers purchased the islands and the sawmill. They enlarged the installations in order to export lumber to Great Britain. Due to the continental blockade Napoleon I imposed on England, the European and Scandinavian harbours were closed to English ships and Canada became Britain’s only resource for the lumber necessary to construct its fleet. Formerly called Hamilton Mills, the village was not yet located on the southern bank of the Ottawa River but on l’île du Chenail. The first inhabitants were English-speaking and most of them, United Empire Loyalists. However, starting in 1840, French-speaking people began to settle, attracted by the development of the timber industry.

Visit historic sites in Hawkesbury

Lefaivre

Settlement of Lefaivre only began with the arrival of Pierre Lefaivre and his family in 1848. Then, in 1855, Hilaire Cholette, a native of Rigaud, Québec, moved with his family on the actual site of the village. Many Irish families joined the first settlers, but they soon left to move further west. By 1867, 60 Catholic settlers were already living in Lefaivre and soon the village was inhabited mainly by French speaking people. Elected mayor of the Township of Alfred in 1872, Hercule Lefaivre, son of the pioneer Pierre Lefaivre, promoted the development of the local economy. He looked after the roads, took over the post office and started a general store in 1873. He had a wharf built on the Ottawa River in 1882 to encourage an increase in the local trade.

Visit historic sites in Lefaivre

L'Orignal

Even if Joseph La Rocque Brune and Raymond Duffaut settled in the region in 1791, Nathaniel Hazard Treadwell, who bought the seigniory of L’Orignal in 1796, initiated significant local development. Two years after the acquisition of the territory, he had a sawmill and a flour mill built to make the early inhabitants’ lives easier. As early as 1812, a small settlement existed in L’Orignal. Designated the new District of Ottawa in 1816, it was the construction of the courthouse and gaol in 1825 that strengthened the administrative and judiciary function of the Village. Thus, L’Orignal became the chef-lieu of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell. In 1876, L’Orignal became a village. As a result of municipal merges, it became a ward on January 1, 1998. Until 1820, L’Orignal was mainly occupied by Loyalists and Scots. It was in 1849 that a number of French Canadians settled there. The population increased to 800 inhabitants, between 1846 and 1873.

Visit historic sites in L'Orignal

Montebello

The history of the village of Montebello closely relates to that of the Seigniory of la Petite-Nation and of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours parish (c. 1855).  At that time, Louis-Joseph Papineau undertook the development of the village of Montebello.  He had the first school and caretaker’s house built. He marked out and named streets.  As part of the parish of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours, the Village became a municipality in 1878 and was called Montebello.  Even though a fire destroyed 32 houses in 1913, Montebello is still one of the most beautiful villages along the Ottawa River.

Visit historic sites in Montebello

Papineauville

Papineauville, a village in Papineau County on the Ottawa River and on the Canadian Pacific Railway line, 85 miles west of Montreal was founded in 1853 and incorporated in 1896. The Village was named in honour of Louis Joseph Papineau, whose family owned the seigniory of La Petite Nation, in which the Village is situated.  The principal industries are farming, lumbering, and dairying. The Village contains the Marists and two convents.

Visit historic sites in Papineauville

Plaisance

Plaisance is where Joseph Papineau, first lord of the Little Nation territory, built the first sawmill at the site of the falls which eventually became a prosperous industrial township known as North Nation Mills. The Village was founded in 1900 and its development was mostly agricultural. The Heritage Interpretation Center is located in the old presbytery which has been restored and enlarged for its new mission. A time travel visit details how the whole area was reborn.  The historic Falls are located on Malo Road, five km. North of Plaisance by the Montée Papineau.

Visit historic sites in Plaisance

Plantagenet

This town of Plantagenet is located in the extreme north-west part of Prescott County, is bounded on the north by Ottawa, east by Alfred, south by South Plantagenet and west by Russell County. The Nation River, a stream of considerable size, especially in the spring, when a large number of logs are floated down it, enters near the south-eastern angle of the Township. It then flows into the Ottawa River. The land bordering this river is mostly level as is the physical aspect of the greater part of the land in the Township. Though the soil is not as fertile as it is in some other parts of the county, many of the inhabitants have followed farming successfully. Previous to 1811 no settlement had been made in this Township.

Visit historic sites in Plantagenet

Pointe-au-Chene

Visit historic sites in Pointe-au-Chene

Pointe-Fortune

Located on the border between Ontario and Québec, the village of Pointe-Fortune was the first known under the names of Petites-Écores and Petit-Carillon.  About 1750, brothers Pierre and François–Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil established a fur trading post here.  Settlement in the territory began in the early part of the 18th century, with the arrival of William Fortune and his son, Joseph, who were probably the first inhabitants of the Town.  In 1833, Schagel, the hotel keeper, established a ferry service between Point Fortune and Carillon, two villages which shared a very close social, economic and religious history.  The railway between Point Fortune and Montreal was completed in 1892.  However, the development of the village was slowed when the Canadian Pacific Railway Company decided to connect the metropolis to Ottawa through St-Eugène instead of Point Fortune.  The Village was significantly transformed after the construction of the Carillon hydroelectric power station in early 1960. 

Visit historic sites in Pointe-Fortune

Rockland

The region began growing in 1840 with the development of the road to L’Orignal-Bytown. Before then, farmers relentlessly cleared wooded space to be able to cultivate land, their only means of survival. In 1868, a young entrepreneur, William Cameron Edwards, decided to establish a sawmill at McCaul point. The opening of the railroad followed in 1888 to allow wood and merchandise to be transported. In 1889, the mission served by the priest Caron from Clarence-Creek, became a parish. The first priest of the new parish was Simeon Hudon a native of Québec City. The first school opened in 1875 and the first high-school opened in 1905. Construction of a second railroad in 1908 linking Ottawa and Hawkesbury greatly promoted population.

Visit historic sites in Rockland

Thurso

In the beginning, Thurso was a mission of Buckingham but was not part of the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation as were most of the nearby missions. Even though, the first settlers, Catholics and Baptists, came to Lochaber at the beginning of the 19th century, it was in 1896 that Thurso became an independent municipality. Mr. Sutherland, from Thurso in the north of the Scottish Highlands gave his name to the post office and the new village. In 1925, the Singer Company built a sawmill that provided work for many experienced woodsmen. This sawmill became a bigger enterprise subsequently bought by James Maclaren Industries in 1965. From then on, Thurso became more and more prosperous. It had become a town in 1962. The many factories, especially Pulp & Paper Fraser Nexfor, contributed to economic stability in Thurso. Social clubs, such as golf and curling were founded. One of Thurso’s most famous son is undoubtedly Guy Lafleur, famous hockey player.

Visit historic sites in Thurso

Treadwell

The small village of Treadwell is located on the shores of the Ottawa River. The history of the area’s colonization goes quite far back. Although the parish was founded in 1923, it seems that the area had already been in use for 100 years. In the early nineteenth century, the area was called Brown’s Wharf. Since roads were practically nonexistent, the waterways were the only trade routes. In 1857, the first post office opened. The town was called Treadwell, after C. P. Treadwell, the Sheriff, who managed to reclaim the original seigniory that his father had bought in 1795. Gradually, Treadwell started receiving Francophones coming from the counties of Vaudreuil, Soulanges and Lac des Deux Montagnes. With only a few families left, the village no longer has a resident priest, the presbytery has been converted into dwellings and there is no school.

Visit historic sites in Treadwell

Wendover

Wendover is a small village of 571 homes located approximately 30 minutes east of the city of Ottawa, along the south shore of the Ottawa River. It is surrounded by the villages of Plantagenet, Curran and Clarence. The origins of the town’s name cannot be found in the archives; however, it is thought to be named after a British visitor who lived in the village in 1830.

Visit historic sites in Wendover