The earliest settlers in the area, Joseph La Rocque-Brune and Raymond Duffaut, had located by 1791. Five years later, Nathaniel Treadwell, a land surveyor and speculator from Plattsburg, New York, acquired the seigneury of Pointe-à-l'Orignal, some 23,000 acres. Treadwell built a sawmill and a grist-mill and opened roads. By 1812, a small community was established here named L'Orignal after the moose found in the Pointe area. In 1816, it became the capital of the newly created Ottawa District. The court house was erected in 1825 and four years later a post office was opened. An influx of French-speaking settlers increased L'Orignal's population which numbered 400 in 1850. In 1876, with a population of over 800, it was incorporated as a village.

Location

At St-Jean Baptiste School, 35 Longueuil Street, L'Orignal

Themes

• Communities
• Franco-Ontarian heritage