Lac-Simon is a town and municipality 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 of

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, part of the

Papineau Regional County Municipality Papineau is a regional county municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. The seat is Papineauville. Subdivisions There are 24 subdivisions within the RCM: Demographics Mother tongue from Canada 2016 Census In 2016, the popu ...

. It is known for its sandy beaches on

Lake Simon A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

and provides services to vacationers and campers.

History

In 1845, the

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

Amable LeBlanc and his wife Marie-Louise Cimon, the niece of Basile Outik, chief of the Oka Indian tribe, went to settle on an island in the middle of a lake located north-west of

Oka Oka or OKA may refer to: Cars * Oka (automobile), a small car designed by AvtoVAZ and produced by ZMA and SeAZ * OKA 4wd, a large 4-wheel-drive vehicle made in Western Australia by OKA Military * 2B1 Oka, Soviet 420 mm self-propelled mor ...

. Eight families left with him to this region where hunting and fishing were very good. Three of these families were related to the parents of his wife and from then on, the residents of Oka, and later those of Montebello, called this lake "Lake Cimon", which became "Lake Simon". The largest island in the lake is now called White Duck Island (''Île du Canard Blanc'') in honour of Amable LeBlanc who was nicknamed "White Duck" in reference to his slightly lighter skin colour as compared to his native relatives. Starting in 1852, Franco-Catholic colonists began to settle at the lake, working as log drivers, loggers, or farmers. In 1857, a

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

was established. In 1864, Hartwell Township is formed (named after a place in central Buckinghamshire, England), followed a few years later by the United Township Municipality of Hartwell-et-Suffolk. In 1880, the mission attained the status of parish under the name of Saint-Felix-de-Valois. In 1881, Hartwell-et-Suffolk separated and formed the Township Municipality of Hartwell and the Township Municipality of Suffolk. In 1893, Hartwell was merged with Preston Township, becoming the United Township Municipality of Hartwell-et-Preston. In 1936, the united townships were separated again and formed the Township Municipality of Hartwell and the Municipality of Duhamel. In 1958, Hartwell became the Parish Municipality of Chénéville and finally became the Municipality of Lac-Simon in 1965. Lac-Simon's development as a resort area began in the 1950s, and accelerated when the provincial government acquired sites bordering the lake and opened a campground. Today, Lac-Simon is a popular year-round vacation resort.

Demographics

Mother tongue: * English as first language: 3.8% * French as first language: 94.8% * English and French as first language: 0.5% * Other as first language: 0.9%

References

External links

{{authority control Incorporated places in Outaouais Municipalities in Quebec