Origins
L'Orignal is a small village lying peacefully on the Ontario side of
the Ottawa
River. The name was given by people who saw moose
swimming
from the Laurentians on the Quebec side of the river.
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Origins L'Orignal is a small village lying peacefully on the Ontario side of
the Ottawa |
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L'Orignal, a francophone village in eastern Ontario,
has a unique history. Its origins go back to the days of the seigniorial system.
The Seigniory of Pointe-à-L'Orignal was conceded to Major François Provost on November 27th, 1674 by the Company of the Western Indies. Later, the major sold it to the Soulanges family and the seigniory became, by way of succession, the property of the baron of Longueuil and later in 1778, of his son, Jos.-Dominique-Emmanuel. The latter was not interested in settling this huge expanse of land and wanted to sell it, especially after 1791. That year the British government passed the Constitutionnal Act dividing the country in Lower-Canada (Québec) and Upper-Canada(Ontario). In 1796, an American, Nathaniel Hazard Treadwell, bought the seigniory of Longueuil which was now in Upper-Canada.. In 1812, at the onset of the war between England
and the United States, N.H. Treadwell refused to pay allegiance to the Crown and was thus
forced to go back to the United States. In 1824, Charles Platt Treadwell, his son,
was reinstated on his father's land and from then on settlers were invited to buy land. |