L'Orignal () is a

Franco-Ontarian Franco-Ontarians (french: Franco-Ontariens or if female, sometimes known as ''Ontarois'' and ''Ontaroises'') are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2016, the Government of On ...

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

and former municipality, now part of Champlain Township in

eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

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 ...

, Canada. Its population in 2016 was 1,450. L'Orignal likely took its name from its location on 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 ...

once known as Pointe à l'Orignac ( French for "Moose Point"), where

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

crossed the river. It was one of the seigneuries of New France.

History

In 1674, the Company of New France granted the Seigneurie de L'Orignac (later renamed the Seigneurie de Longueuil) to François Prévost. It was one of the two seigneuries the King of France granted in present-day Ontario, along with La Salle's Seigneurie de Cataraqui (now Kingston). As part of New France, the area was ceded to Great Britain in 1763. The seigneurie was assigned to Upper Canada (Ontario) during the creation of Upper Canada and Lower Canada (Quebec) in 1791. In 1798, Nathan Treadwell, of

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...

, purchased of seigneurial land. The government confiscated the property during the War of 1812 and returned it to his son in 1823. In 1816, the Village of L'Orignal was chosen as the district town for the

Ottawa District The Ottawa District was a historic district in Upper Canada which existed until 1849. It was created in 1816 by splitting the counties of Prescott and Russell from the Eastern District. The district town was L'Orignal. In 1838 Gloucester towns ...

. The Ottawa District Courthouse, built in L'Orignal in 1825, is still in use. The decommissioned L'Orignal Jail is now a museum. L'Orignal Parish was established in 1836 as the first Catholic parish in Prescott County. The Village was incorporated in 1876 and amalgamated into Champlain Township in 1997 as one of four wards. It is now the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Prescott and Russell United Counties The United Counties of Prescott and Russell (french: Comtés unis de Prescott et Russell) are consolidated counties located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is L'Orignal. It was created as a result of a merger between Russ ...

. As of th
2016 census
the population of the former Village of L'Orignal was 1,450.

Geography

According to

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, the former village had a total area of . It is located at 45 degrees 37' N and 74 degrees 41' W.

External links

Official site

References

L'Original History
{{authority control Former villages in Ontario Communities in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell