Bristol is a municipality in the

Ottawa Valley The Ottawa Valley is the valley of the Ottawa River, along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield. Because of the surroundi ...

, on the Quebec side in the

Outaouais Outaouais (, ; also commonly called The Outaouais) is a region of western Quebec, Canada. It includes the city of Gatineau, the municipality of Val-des-Monts and the Papineau region. Geographically, it is located on the north side of the Ottawa ...

region, part of the

Pontiac Regional County Municipality Pontiac (french: municipalité régionale de comté de Pontiac) is a regional county municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. Campbell's Bay is the county seat. It should not be confused with the municipality of Pontiac, which is ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. It is located on the north shore of

Lac des Chats Lac des Chats (English: Lake of Cats), commonly known as Chats Lake, is a lake on the Ottawa River that forms the boundary between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec (Canada). It is formed by the Chats Falls Dam and serves as the reservoir for t ...

(part of the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

) across from

Arnprior Arnprior is a town in Renfrew County, in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located west of Downtown Ottawa, at the confluence of the Madawaska River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley. Arnprior has experienced sign ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Its settlements include Bristol Village, Bristol Mines (Bristol-les-Mines), Bristol Ridge, Caldwell, Doherty, Elmside, Maple Ridge, Maryland, McKee, Norway Bay, and Weirstead.

History

Bristol Township, already shown on the Gale and Duberger Map of 1795, was officially created in 1834. It was named after the City of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in south-west England, known for its

port facilities A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

. The first

settler A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...

s came from England, Scotland, and Ireland, followed later on by settlers from Germany, France, and Poland. In 1845, a post office was established, and in 1855, the

township municipality The following is a list of the types of local and supralocal territorial units in Quebec, including those used solely for statistical purposes, as defined by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy and compiled by the Inst ...

was created together with the neighbouring hamlet of Norway Bay, an area that is now a sought-after resort location on the Ottawa River. Its first mayor was William Craig and the mayor as of November 2009 is Brent Orr. Canada's first horse-drawn railroad was in the Bristol area. It was operated by the Union Forwarding Company, and ran from Pontiac Village bypassing the

Chats Falls Chats Falls (in French: ''Chute des Chats'', meaning "Cat Falls") were a set of waterfalls on the Ottawa River, near Fitzroy Harbour, Ontario, and Quyon, Quebec, Canada. A hydroelectric generating station is now located here, owned and operat ...

, to Union Village until 1886. From 1872 to 1894, iron ore was first mined. In 1956, a new open pit iron ore mine and processing facilities were built, employing up to 300 people. This was the first iron ore mining and

pelletizing Pelletizing is the process of compressing or molding a material into the shape of a pellet. A wide range of different materials are pelletized including chemicals, iron ore, animal compound feed, plastics, waste materials, and more. The process ...

plant built in Quebec. It closed in 1976. On April 24, 2004, the Township Municipality of Bristol was changed to Municipality of Bristol.

Demographics

Population

Language

Mother tongues: * English as first language: 74.2% * French as first language: 21.3% * Other as first language: 1.7% Due to the fact that many visitors come to Norway Bay in the summers, these statistics may change.

Tourism and attractions

Norway Bay is a popular summer destination with hundreds of cottages and two hotels catering to tourists. Also located here is McLellan Park with a public beach and wharf on the Ottawa River. During the months of June, July, and August, Norway Bay is considered home to hundreds of families. At the wharf, there are swimming lessons, and at the beach there are kayak and canoe adventures. Norway Bay has grown incredibly the past decade due to the many opportunities it brings to all ages. Other outdoor activities include cycling on the

Cycloparc PPJ Cycloparc PPJ is a rail trail located in the Pontiac Regional County Municipality in Quebec, Canada. The PPJ traverses of hills and riverfront and enables hikers and cyclists to tour through points of interest such as Grand Calumet Island, the ...

trail, sampling agritourism and local food and drink products at Coronation Hall Cider Mills, golfing at Pine Lodge the local golf course, boating, fishing, and hiking. In the winter,

snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

can be done on local trails, and on top of the frozen river, if temperatures permit.

References

External links

{{authority control Incorporated places in Outaouais Municipalities in Quebec