L'Isle-aux-Allumettes
| L'Isle-aux-Allumettes | |
|---|---|
| Municipality | |
 |
|
 Location within Pontiac RCM |
|
 L'Isle-aux-Allumettes
|
|
| Coordinates: 45°52′N 77°04′W / 45.867°N 77.067°WCoordinates: 45°52′N 77°04′W / 45.867°N 77.067°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
|
| Province |
 Quebec
|
| Region | Outaouais |
| RCM | Pontiac |
| Constituted | December 30, 1998 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Winston Sunstrum |
| • Federal riding | Pontiac |
| • Prov. riding | Pontiac |
| Area | |
| • Total | 234.20 km2 (90.43 sq mi) |
| • Land | 185.87 km2 (71.76 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 1,345 |
| • Density | 7.2/km2 (19/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2006-2011 |
 6.8% |
| • Dwellings | 1,122 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC−5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) |
| Postal code(s) | J0X 1M0 |
| Area code(s) | 819 |
| Highways |
 Route 148
|
| Website | www |
L'Isle-aux-Allumettes is a municipality in the Outaouais region, part of the Pontiac Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. The municipality consists primarily of Allumette Island (in French Île aux Allumettes), and also includes Morrison Island, Marcotte Island, and some minor islets, all in the Ottawa River north of Pembroke.
In the past, the island and municipalities have been spelled in French in various ways:
Allumette Island is 22 kilometres (14 mi) long and 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) wide, making it the largest island within the Ottawa River along its entire course. At this point the Ottawa River has widened into a lake, called Allumette Lake, which is 52 km (32 mi) long and has a total surface area of 120 km2 (46 sq mi).
The municipality consists mostly of agricultural land. Its population centres are Chapeau, Desjardinsville, Demers Centre, and Saint-Joseph.
The Kichesipirini Algonquins first occupied the site in order to maintain control of trade on the Ottawa River. For this reason, Samuel de Champlain named it Isle des Algoumequins during his trip of 1613. In 1650, this native population was almost entirely exterminated by the Iroquois.
In his memoirs written during the second half of the 17th century, Nicolas Perrot made mention of the "One-Eyed Island otherwise called Allumette Island" ("Isle du Borgne autrement ditte l'Isle des Allumettes"). The name "One-Eyed" was a reference to the disability of Tessouat, an Algonquin chief in the region. The name "Allumettes" (literally meaning "matches") was first given to the rapids south-east of the island. A map from 1680 refers to these as Sault des Allumettes (Allumette Falls).
It was not until 1818 that Europeans began to settle on the island. They worked mostly as loggers or for the Hudson's Bay Company which had a fur trading post just upstream at Fort William. The preferred transport route was still the river, so most families build their homes south on the island where the church of Saint-Alphonse-de-l'Île-aux-Allumettes Parish was built in 1840. The Île-aux-Allumettes Township was formed in 1847, and its first mayor was Andrew Whelan.
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Wikipedia