L'Isle-aux-Allumettes () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''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, the municipality of Cantley, Quebec, Cantley and the Papineau Regional County Municipal ...

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 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 ...

north of Pembroke. In the past, the island and municipalities have been spelled in French in various ways: * Isle-des-Allumettes * L'Île-Allumettes * Île-aux-Allumettes

Etymology

The name ''Isle-aux-Allumettes'' literally means "Island of Matches", and may refer to a box of

match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

es that was left behind. In 1686, Chevalier de Troyes wrote about the island: “A Jesuit passing here another time forgot a box of matches which he carried to make a fire. This is why the

Voyageurs Voyageurs (; ) were 18th- and 19th-century French and later French Canadians and others who transported furs by canoe at the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including the ...

gave the name “L’Isle-aux-Allumettes”. Another theory claims that the place was named for the reeds that grew on the island which were used as matches.

Geography

Allumette Island is long and 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 long and has a total surface area of . The municipality consists mostly of agricultural land. Its population centres are Chapeau, Desjardinsville, Demers Centre, and Saint-Joseph.

History

The

Kichesipirini The Kichesipirini ("People of the Great River", "Island Indians") were an Algonquin First Nations in Canada based near the Ottawa River in Quebec. Name The name ''Kichesipirini'' translates into English as "men of the great river," for their w ...

Algonquins The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada and parts of the United States. They speak the Algonquin language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely ...

first occupied the site in order to maintain control of trade on the Ottawa River. For this reason,

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

named it ''Isle des Algoumequins'' during his trip of 1613. In 1650, this native population was almost entirely exterminated by the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

. In his memoirs written during the second half of the 17th century,

Nicolas Perrot Nicolas Perrot (–1717), a French explorer, fur trader, and diplomat, was one of the first European men to travel in the Upper Mississippi Valley, in what is now Wisconsin and Minnesota. Biography Nicolas Perrot was born in France between 1641 ...

made mention of the "One-Eyed Man's Island otherwise called Matches Island" ("''Isle du Borgne autrement ditte l'Isle des Allumettes''"). "One-Eyed" was a reference to the disability of

Tessouat Tessouat (''Anishinaabe'': Tesswehas) ( c. ??? – 1636–1654) was an Algonquin chief from the Kitchesipirini nation ("Kitche"=Great, "sipi"=river, "rini"=people: the people from the great river, the Ottawa River). His nation lived in an ...

, an Algonquin chief in the region. The name "Allumettes" was first given to the rapids south-east of the island; a map from 1680 refers to these as ''Sault des Allumettes'' (Matches 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 The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

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 on the southside of 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. An intense fire destroyed almost all the buildings in 1853 and, thereafter, the population settled more toward the northern part, on the current site of Chapeau village. In 1874, the village of Chapeau separated from the township and became an incorporated municipality, with Patrick Cunningham as the first mayor. In 1910, the parish of Saint-Joseph-de-l'Île-aux-Allumettes was established on the eastern part of the island, leading to the formation of the Municipality of L'Isle-aux-Allumettes-Partie-Est in 1920. On December 30, 1998, the municipality of Chapeau Village and the township municipalities of L'Isle-aux-Allumettes and L'Isle-aux-Allumettes-Part-East were merged into the new Municipality of L'Isle-aux-Allumettes.

Demographics

Population

Language

Mother tongue (2021): * English as first language: 75.7% * French as first language: 18.1% * English and French as first language: 3.6% * Other as first language: 2.2%

Local government

List of former mayors (since formation of current municipality): * Jérôme Sallafranque (1998–1999) * Denzil Spence (1999–2005) * Brian Adam (2005–2009) * Winston Sunstrum (2009–2021) * Corey Spence (2021–present)

Transportation

The main highway on the island, Quebec Route 148, extends easterly through

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. At its western terminus in L'Isle-aux-Allumettes, the roadway crosses the Ottawa River and continues as Ontario Highway 148 into Laurentian Valley and Pembroke.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isle-aux-Allumettes, Le Incorporated places in Outaouais Municipalities in Quebec Populated places on the Ottawa River