L'Île-du-Grand-Calumet, Quebec
Encyclopedia
L'Île-du-Grand-Calumet is a municipality in the Outaouais region, part of the Pontiac Regional County Municipality, Quebec
, Canada. The municipality consists primarily of Calumet Island (in French Île du Grand Calumet), but also includes Lafontaine Island, French Island, Green Island, and numerous minor islets, all in the Ottawa River
, some 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) north of Renfrew, Ontario
.
Its name is a reference to the large peace pipes which were smoked by the Algonquin who used to gather here in large numbers.
Bordering on Whitewater Region, Ontario
, the municipality is the co-location of some of the roughest sections on the Ottawa River, popular with kayakers and rafters. Three whitewater rafting
companies based in L'Île-du-Grand-Calumet take adventurers down the Rocher Fendu Rapids, known as the best whitewater
rapids in Eastern North America.
Population centres are Rivière-Barry, Freshwater, Dunraven, Duffyville, Le Faubourg, Île-du-Grand-Calumet, and Tancredia.
, the region along the Ottawa River was not colonized in order to maintain the fur trade with the indigenous peoples
who lived there. The French maintained military garrisons in several forts along the Ottawa River, including Fort-Coulonge. Furs would be delivered there and then brought under escort to the larger towns of the colony. After 1763, the English had the same motive to discourage the colonization of the region.
But because the Ottawa River was the main canoe route to the west, Calumet Island was the site of a portage
trail to bypass the strong and turbulent rapids in the river at this point. Here the events of the Cadieux Legend took place.
Jean Cadieux, born at Boucherville
on March 12, 1671, youngest son of Jean Cadieux and Marie Valade, was a coureur des bois
from 1695 on. In May 1709, when attacked by the Iroquois
on Calumet Island, he sacrificed himself in order to let his travelling companions escape by running the Seven Chutes Rapids. Remaining alone on Calumet Island, he died of his injuries and exhaustion. When found, he held in his hand a sheet of bark on which he had transcribed a death chant, known as La Complainte Cadieux. Its opening stanza is as follows:
This legend is still kept alive and commemorated by the island's inhabitants.
French-Canadian from the province of Québec started to settle there as early as 1820. The first settler was Louis-Marie Brizard. There is a street there named Brizard in his honour.
The first settler was Louis-Marie Brizard (1798-1868) from Maskinongé Qc.. There, he had as a girlfriend Marie Lavigne (1798-1868). Apparently, she was a grand daughter of the local Indian chief. She converted to Catholicism. On October 4th 1836, they got married at Fort-Coulonge, Qc. It was the closest place to meet a priest. Louis-Marie and Marie had many children who married new settlers. Many people now living there have Louis-Marie and Marie Lavigne as for away ancestors. In the past, Brizard was sometimes written Brisard, Brissard and Brizzard; indicating the same person.
Circa 1836, former employees of the Hudson's Bay Company
started to settle on the island, followed by three waves of Irish immigration between 1840 and 1850. In 1840 the Parish of Sainte-Anne-du-Grand-Calumet was formed. In 1846 the Grand-Calumet Township was established, with F.X. Bastien as first mayor. On May 14, 1847, the Township Municipality of Calumet was created, but abolished on the next September 1 and reestablished in 1855.
Lead-zinc was discovered on Calumet Island in 1893. New Calumet Mines began production in 1943, with a peak output of 840 tons per day in 1953 and employing 435 people. In 1968 the mine was shut down.
In 2003, the Township Municipality of Grand-Calumet became the Municipality of Grand-Calumet, and on December 22, 2007 changed its name to the Municipality of L'Île-du-Grand-Calumet.
Total private dwellings (excluding seasonal cottages): 328
Languages:
Pontiac Regional County Municipality, Quebec
Pontiac is a county regional municipality MRC Pontiac in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. It should not be confused with the municipality of Pontiac, which is located inside the county regional municipality of Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais....
, Canada. The municipality consists primarily of Calumet Island (in French Île du Grand Calumet), but also includes Lafontaine Island, French Island, Green Island, and numerous minor islets, all in the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
, some 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) north of Renfrew, Ontario
Renfrew, Ontario
Renfrew, Ontario, Canada, is a town on the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County. Located one hour west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario, Renfrew is the third largest town in the county after Petawawa and Pembroke. The town is a small transportation hub connecting Ontario Highway 60 and Highway 132 with...
.
Its name is a reference to the large peace pipes which were smoked by the Algonquin who used to gather here in large numbers.
Bordering on Whitewater Region, Ontario
Whitewater Region, Ontario
Whitewater Region is a township located within the scenic Ottawa Valley, in eastern Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River in Renfrew County. Whitewater Region is made up of the former municipalities of Beachburg, Cobden, Ross and Westmeath, which were amalgamated into the current township on January...
, the municipality is the co-location of some of the roughest sections on the Ottawa River, popular with kayakers and rafters. Three whitewater rafting
Rafting
Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...
companies based in L'Île-du-Grand-Calumet take adventurers down the Rocher Fendu Rapids, known as the best whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
rapids in Eastern North America.
Geography
About 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) long by 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) wide, Calumet Island has an elevation of no more than 200 metres (656.2 ft) above sea level. Agricultural land use is mostly concentrated in the centre of the island.Population centres are Rivière-Barry, Freshwater, Dunraven, Duffyville, Le Faubourg, Île-du-Grand-Calumet, and Tancredia.
History
Like Allumette Island upstream, Calumet Island was for many years a meeting place of the Algonquin people. During the French PeriodNew France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
, the region along the Ottawa River was not colonized in order to maintain the fur trade with the indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
who lived there. The French maintained military garrisons in several forts along the Ottawa River, including Fort-Coulonge. Furs would be delivered there and then brought under escort to the larger towns of the colony. After 1763, the English had the same motive to discourage the colonization of the region.
But because the Ottawa River was the main canoe route to the west, Calumet Island was the site of a portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...
trail to bypass the strong and turbulent rapids in the river at this point. Here the events of the Cadieux Legend took place.
Jean Cadieux, born at Boucherville
Boucherville, Quebec
Boucherville is a city in the Montérégie region in Quebec, Canada. It is a suburb of Montreal on the South shore of the Saint Lawrence River....
on March 12, 1671, youngest son of Jean Cadieux and Marie Valade, was a coureur des bois
Coureur des bois
A coureur des bois or coureur de bois was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian woodsman who traveled in New France and the interior of North America. They travelled in the woods to trade various things for fur....
from 1695 on. In May 1709, when attacked by the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
on Calumet Island, he sacrificed himself in order to let his travelling companions escape by running the Seven Chutes Rapids. Remaining alone on Calumet Island, he died of his injuries and exhaustion. When found, he held in his hand a sheet of bark on which he had transcribed a death chant, known as La Complainte Cadieux. Its opening stanza is as follows:
- Petit rocher de la haute montagne, (Little stone of the high mountain,)
Je viens ici finir cette campagne! (I come here to finish this campaign!)
Ah! doux échos, entendez mes soupirs (Ah! sweet echoes, hear my sighs)
En languissant, je vais bientôt mourir! (Languishing, soon will I die!)
This legend is still kept alive and commemorated by the island's inhabitants.
French-Canadian from the province of Québec started to settle there as early as 1820. The first settler was Louis-Marie Brizard. There is a street there named Brizard in his honour.
The first settler was Louis-Marie Brizard (1798-1868) from Maskinongé Qc.. There, he had as a girlfriend Marie Lavigne (1798-1868). Apparently, she was a grand daughter of the local Indian chief. She converted to Catholicism. On October 4th 1836, they got married at Fort-Coulonge, Qc. It was the closest place to meet a priest. Louis-Marie and Marie had many children who married new settlers. Many people now living there have Louis-Marie and Marie Lavigne as for away ancestors. In the past, Brizard was sometimes written Brisard, Brissard and Brizzard; indicating the same person.
Circa 1836, former employees of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
started to settle on the island, followed by three waves of Irish immigration between 1840 and 1850. In 1840 the Parish of Sainte-Anne-du-Grand-Calumet was formed. In 1846 the Grand-Calumet Township was established, with F.X. Bastien as first mayor. On May 14, 1847, the Township Municipality of Calumet was created, but abolished on the next September 1 and reestablished in 1855.
Lead-zinc was discovered on Calumet Island in 1893. New Calumet Mines began production in 1943, with a peak output of 840 tons per day in 1953 and employing 435 people. In 1968 the mine was shut down.
In 2003, the Township Municipality of Grand-Calumet became the Municipality of Grand-Calumet, and on December 22, 2007 changed its name to the Municipality of L'Île-du-Grand-Calumet.
Demographics
Population:- Population in 2006: 785 (2001 to 2006 population change: 7.2 %)
- Population in 2001: 732
- Population in 1996: 774
- Population in 1991: 787
Total private dwellings (excluding seasonal cottages): 328
Languages:
- English as first language: 21 %
- French as first language: 78 %
- Other as first language: 1 %