L'Isle-aux-Allumettes

L'Isle-aux-Allumettes is a municipality in the Outaouais 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 north of Pembroke.

L'Isle-aux-Allumettes
Municipality
Location within Pontiac RCM
L'Isle-aux-Allumettes
Location in SW Quebec
Coordinates: 45°52′N 77°04′W[1]
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionOutaouais
RCMPontiac
ConstitutedDecember 30, 1998
Government
[2]
 • MayorWinston Sunstrum
 • Federal ridingPontiac
 • Prov. ridingPontiac
Area
[2][3]
 • Total234.20 km2 (90.43 sq mi)
 • Land186.02 km2 (71.82 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)[3]
 • Total1,334
 • Density7.2/km2 (19/sq mi)
 • Pop 2011-2016
 0.8%
 • Dwellings
1,126
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)
J0X 1M0
Area code(s)819
Highways Route 148
Websitewww.isle-aux-allumettes.com

In the past, the island and municipalities have been spelled in French in various ways:[4]

  • Isle-des-Allumettes
  • L'Île-Allumettes
  • Île-aux-Allumettes

Geography
Satellite photo of the island

Allumette Island is 22 kilometres (14 mi) long and 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) 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 52 km (32 mi) long and has a total surface area of 120 km2 (46 sq mi).[5]

The municipality consists mostly of agricultural land. Its population centres are Chapeau, Desjardinsville, Demers Centre, and Saint-Joseph.[6]

History

The Kichesipirini Algonquins first occupied the site in order to maintain control of trade on the Ottawa River. For this reason, Samuel de Champlain named it Isle des Algoumequins during his trip of 1613. In 1650, this native population was almost entirely exterminated by the Iroquois.[5]

In his memoirs written during the second half of the 17th century, Nicolas Perrot made mention of the "One-Eyed Man's Island otherwise called Matches Island" ("Isle du Borgne autrement ditte l'Isle des Allumettes"), "matches" referring to the little sticks for lighting fires. "One-Eyed" was a reference to the disability of Tessouat, 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).[5]

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 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 south on the island where the church of Saint-Alphonse-de-l'Île-aux-Allumettes Parish was built in 1840.[5] The Île-aux-Allumettes Township was formed in 1847,[7] and its first mayor was Andrew Whelan.[6]

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.[5] In 1874, the village of Chapeau separated from the township and became an incorporated municipality,[8] with Patrick Cunningham as the first mayor.[6]

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.[9]

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.[4]

Demographics

Population
Canada census – L'Isle-aux-Allumettes community profile
20162011
Population1,334 (-0.8% from 2011)1,345 (-6.8% from 2006)
Land area186.02 km2 (71.82 sq mi)185.87 km2 (71.76 sq mi)
Population density7.2/km2 (19/sq mi)7.2/km2 (19/sq mi)
Median age50.6 (M: 49.8, F: 51.3)47.7 (M: 47.3, F: 47.9)
Total private dwellings1,1261,122
Median household income$54,400$.N/A
Notes: 2011 Income data for this area has been suppressed for data quality or confidentiality reasons.
References: 2016[10] 2011[11] earlier[12][13]
Historical Census Data - L'Isle-aux-Allumettes, Quebec
YearPop.±%
1986 1,430—    
1991 1,430+0.0%
1996 1,482+3.6%
2001 1,385−6.5%
2006 1,443+4.2%
2011 1,345−6.8%
2016 1,334−0.8%
Population amounts prior to 1998 are total of L'Isle-aux-Allumettes CT, L'Isle-aux-Allumettes-Partie-Est CT, and Chapeau VL.
Source: [14]
Chapeau

Language

Mother tongue:[3]

  • English as first language: 76.7%
  • French as first language: 21.4%
  • Other as first language: 1.9%

See also

References
  1. Reference number 350425 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (in French)
  2. "L'Isle-aux-Allumettes". Répertoire des municipalités (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire. Archived from the original on 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
  3. "(Code 2484082) Census Profile". 2016 census. Statistics Canada. 2017.
  4. "Municipalité de canton L'Isle-aux-Allumettes" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  5. "Île aux Allumettes" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  6. "Allumettes Island". Pontiac MRC Gateway. Archived from the original on October 7, 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
  7. "Canton d'Île-aux-Allumettes" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  8. "Municipalité de village de Chapeau" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  9. "L'Isle-aux-Allumettes-Partie-Est" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  10. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  11. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
  12. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
  13. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.
  14. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census

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