| L'Isle-aux-Allumettes | |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Flag Size: | 120x100px |
| Pushpin Map: | Canada Western Quebec |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in SW Quebec |
| Coordinates: | 45.8667°N -81°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Quebec |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Outaouais |
| Subdivision Type3: | RCM |
| Subdivision Name3: | Pontiac |
| Established Title1: | Constituted |
| Established Date1: | December 30, 1998 |
| Government Footnotes: | [1] |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Corey Spence |
| Leader Title1: | Federal riding |
| Leader Name1: | Pontiac |
| Leader Title2: | Prov. riding |
| Leader Name2: | Pontiac |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 210.60 |
| Area Land Km2: | 185.94 |
| Population Total: | 1382 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Density Km2: | 7.4 |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Pop (2016-21) |
| Population Blank1: | 3.6% |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Dwellings |
| Population Blank2: | 1124 |
| Timezone: | EST |
| Utc Offset: | −5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −4 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code(s) |
| Postal Code: | J0X 1M0 |
| Area Code: | 819 |
| Blank Name: | Highways |
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.
In the past, the island and municipalities have been spelled in French in various ways:[3]
The name Isle-aux-Allumettes literally means "Island of Matches", and may refer to a box of matches 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 gave the name “L’Isle-aux-Allumettes”.[4]
Another theory claims that the place was named for the reeds that grew on the island which were used as matches.[4]
Allumette Island is 22km (14miles) long and 12km (07miles) 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 52km (32miles) long and has a total surface area of 120km2.[5]
The municipality consists mostly of agricultural land. Its population centres are Chapeau, Desjardinsville, Demers Centre, and Saint-Joseph.[6]
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"). "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 on the southside of 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.[3]
Mother tongue (2021):[2]
List of former mayors (since formation of current municipality):[10]
The main highway on the island, Quebec Route 148, extends easterly through Gatineau to Montreal. 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.