Fassett, a quaint municipality and village in the Papineau Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada, is nestled on the north shore of the Ottawa River, east of Montebello. The village is easily accessible via Route 148, which runs through the town, and Autoroute 50, which passes to the north.
The history of Fassett, Quebec, dates back to 1674 when the area was part of the Petite-Nation Seigneury, originally owned by François de Laval, the first bishop of New France. In 1803, Joseph Papineau acquired the seigneury, becoming its first civilian lord, and later sold it to his son Louis-Joseph Papineau.
The area's economic significance grew during the Napoleonic blockade of 1807 when England had to rely on its colonies for wood for vessel construction. The region was rich in oaks, pines, and maples, which were ideal for shipbuilding.
In 1815, the original mission of Notre Dame de Bonsecours was established, and in 1821, a chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame de Bonsecours (Our Lady of Good Help) was constructed. On September 30, 1831, the bishop of Quebec, Bernard-Claude Panet, granted a petition for the formation of a parish, named Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours-de-la-Petite-Nation.
On June 18, 1845, the Governor General of the Province of Canada, Charles Metcalfe, established local and municipal authorities in Lower Canada. One of the new municipalities created was the Municipality of Petite-Nation, which included the Parish of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours-de-la-Petite-Nation. However, this municipality was abolished in 1847.
On July 1, 1855, a new statute of the Province of Canada came into force, which allowed the parish to get official civilian recognition, known as Parish Municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours-de-la-Petite-Nation.
In the 1870s, the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway was built, connecting Montreal to Ottawa. The rail-line passed through the municipality of Notre-Dame, in what is now Fassett. The Canadian Pacific Railway bought the line in 1882.
In the late 1890s, a dispute between the municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours and the Canadian Pacific Railway led to a court case that reached the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain. The case, known as Canadian Pacific Railway Co. v Notre Dame de Bonsecours, resulted in a ruling in favor of the municipality.
In the early 20th century, the Canadian Pacific Railway built a small station in Fassett, and in 1906, the Thomas family established a post office. Both were named Fassett in honor of Jacob Sloat Fassett, President of the Haskell Lumber Company, later renamed Fassett Lumber Company.
In 1913, the parish of Saint-Fidèle de Fassett was formed out of the Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Parish, and in 1918, the municipality split along these parish boundaries. In 1951, the Parish Municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours became the Municipality of Fassett, named after the Fassett Lumber Company.
Fassett, Quebec, is a predominantly French-speaking community, with 92.4% of the population speaking French as their first language. English is the first language for 2.4% of the population, while another 2.4% are bilingual, speaking both English and French as their first language. Other languages make up 3.5% of the first languages spoken in Fassett.
