Argenteuil () is a

regional county municipality The term regional county municipality or RCM (, , MRC) is used in Quebec, Canada to refer to one of 87 county-like political entities. In some older English translations they were called county regional municipality. Regional county municipalit ...

located in the

Laurentides The Laurentides (, ) is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian Mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 C ...

region of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. Its seat is

Lachute Lachute () is a town in southwest Quebec, Canada, northwest of Montreal, on the Rivière du Nord (Laurentides), Rivière du Nord, a tributary of the Ottawa River, and west of Mirabel International Airport, the Mirabel International Airport. It i ...

History

In 1682, Charles-Joseph d'Ailleboust was granted by

Louis de Buade de Frontenac Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS Louis, HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy Se ...

Governor General of New France Governor General of New France was the vice-regal post in New France from 1663 until 1760 and the last French vice-regal post. It was replaced by the British post of Governor of the Province of Quebec following the fall of New France. While t ...

, a domain of of land. This fiefdom was bounded by the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) 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 Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

to the south, a line through the center of the hamlet of

Carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

in the west and Clear Lake (''Lac Clair'') to the north. Since Ailleboust already owned a house in

Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Argenteuil is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise Departments of France, ...

near Paris, he called his domain Argenteuil Seigneury. In 1697, the Lord of Ailleboust and his wife Catherine Le Gardeur sold their

seigneury A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal system, feudal title in Ancien Régime, France before the French Revolution, Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owne ...

to their son Pierre d'Ailleboust d'Argenteuil. Subsequently over the years, the fiefdom was held by

Pierre-Louis Panet Pierre-Louis Panet (August 1, 1761 – December 2, 1812) was a Canadian lawyer, notary, seigneur, judge and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in Montreal in 1761, the son of Pierre Panet, a lawyer. Panet qualified to practice ...

, and then by Major Murray. After the conquest of New France by the British in 1759 during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, the British implemented their laws, but maintained certain French seigneurial rights. In 1796, Jedediah Lane, from

Jericho, Vermont Jericho is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,104. The town was named after the ancient city of Jericho. History Ira Allen and Remember Baker began surveying the town of Jericho ...

, bought from Major Murray several thousand acres of land on both sides of the North River ('' Rivière du Nord''), where

is today. In 1809, Thomas Barron bought the land of the territory that would become the center of the town of Lachute. Five years later,

Sir John Johnson Brigadier-general (United Kingdom), Brigadier-General Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was an American-born military officer, politician and landowner who fought as a Loyalist (American Revolution), Loyalist dur ...

, a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

from New York who had resettled in Canada after the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, bought the rest of the Argenteuil Seigneury. He built a sawmill and gave land for churches, helping to attract new settlers to Argenteuil. In 1854, the Parliament of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

abolished the seigneurial system, and the County of Argenteuil was created the following year. In January 1983, the Argenteuil Regional County Municipality succeeded the County of Argenteuil.

Subdivisions

There are 9 subdivisions within the RCM: ;Cities (2) *

Brownsburg-Chatham Brownsburg-Chatham () is a municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Argenteuil Regional County Municipality. Economic activities include agriculture, tourism and the manufacture of explosives. It is the hometown of l ...

;Municipalities (3) *

Grenville-sur-la-Rouge Grenville-sur-la-Rouge () is a municipality in the Argenteuil Regional County Municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada. It is a predominantly Francophone community situated along the southern border of Quebec between Montreal and ...

Mille-Isles Mille-Isles (, ) is a municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Argenteuil Regional County Municipality, west of Saint-Jérôme. Mille-Isles is in the Laurentian Hills, crossed by rivers and dotted with fish-filled l ...

Saint-André-d'Argenteuil Saint-André-d'Argenteuil () is a municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Argenteuil Regional County Municipality. It is located along the Ottawa River, just south of Lachute. History Carillon, Quebec, Carillon, b ...

;Townships (3) *

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manito ...

Harrington Harrington (or Harington) may refer to: People as a surname *Harrington (surname) People as a forename * Arthur Raikes (Arthur Edward Harington Raikes, 1867–1915), British army officer * Charles Harrington Elster, American writer *Edward Josep ...

* Wentworth ;Villages (1) * Grenville

Demographics

Population

Language

Transportation

Access Routes

Highways and numbered routes that run through the municipality, including external routes that start or finish at the county border: * Autoroutes ** * Principal Highways ** ** * Secondary Highways ** ** ** * External Routes ** None

Attractions

* Argenteuil Regional Museum (Saint-André-d'Argenteuil) *

Carillon Canal The Carillon Canal is a National Historic Site of Canada in Saint-André-d'Argenteuil, Quebec. It preserves the historic Carillon Canal that was first built in the 1830s to facilitate travel on the Ottawa River. It is a prominent heritage site a ...

* Caserne-de-Carillon National Historic site (Carillon Barracks) *

Lachute Airport Lachute Airport is a general aviation airport southwest of Lachute, northwest of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). CBSA officer ...

(Lachute)

References

External links

Official Web site of MRC of Argenteuil Official Web site of the Count of Argenteuil (History of Seigniors of Argenteuil)

{{Authority control Regional county municipalities in Laurentides Census divisions of Quebec Lachute