French River, also known as Rivière-des-Français, is a charming municipality nestled in the Sudbury District of the Canadian province of Ontario. Formed in 1999 through the merger of the Township of Cosby, Mason, and Martland, French River is named after the river that flows through it. With a population of 2,662 as per the Canada 2016 Census, French River is a part of the Sudbury East region, partnering with the municipalities of St. Charles, Killarney, and Markstay-Warren on several ventures.
The municipality of French River comprises several communities, including Alban, Bigwood, Chartrand Corner, Delamere, Dokis First Nation, French River Station, Happy Landing, Jamot, Monetville, Noëlville, North Monetville, Ouellette, Rutter, Sucker Creek Landing, and Wolseley Bay.
Alban, originally established as Rutter in 1907, was renamed in 1937 after Rev. J. Alban Filiatrault. The Parish of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes was created in 1934, with Jean-Baptiste Rochon donating several acres of land for the construction of a church. After a devastating fire in 1953, the church was rebuilt with brick and plaster walls.
Monetville, originally known as Martland, was first settled in 1895 by Cyrille Monette and four other pioneers. It became a municipality in 1906 and adopted the name Monetville. The community is divided into North Monetville and Monetville, with the former settled by the Douglas Family, the Mercer Family, and the Purcell family in the early 1900s. In 2020, a stone cairn monument was erected in recognition of Cyrille Monette as the founder of Monetville.
Noëlville, originally known as Cosby, was founded in 1905 with the arrival of settlers in the region. The town was renamed Noëlville in 1911 to honor Noël Desmarais, the village's first merchant and businessman. Noël Desmarais was one of the first to start his family business in Noëlville.
North Monetville straddles the municipal boundary between French River and West Nipissing. The area includes Sucker Creek Landing and Chapel Island, with Highway 64 crossing Chapel Island and bridging the West Arm Narrows of Lake Nipissing. The Community of Christ cemetery in North Monetville is the final resting place of Sgt. Wallace Edmond Firlotte, a Canadian World War II hero.
As per the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, French River had a population of 2,828 living in 1,367 of its 2,098 total private dwellings, a change of 6.2% from its 2016 population of 2,662. With a land area of 717.91 km2, it had a population density of 3.9/km2 in 2021.
