Saint-André-d'Argenteuil, Quebec, is a charming municipality nestled in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada. This picturesque community, part of the Argenteuil Regional County Municipality, is situated along the Ottawa River, just south of Lachute.
The history of Saint-André-d'Argenteuil, Quebec, is deeply rooted in the Carillon area, located at the foot of the Long-Sault rapids on the Ottawa River. The area began as a trading post in the early seventeenth century, later serving as a relay station for voyageurs.
In 1660, Adam Dollard des Ormeaux and his companions reportedly saved New France from an Iroquois attack during the Battle of Long Sault. Evidence of a burnt palisade near the present dam's earthworks on the opposite side in Ontario supports this tradition.
In 1671, Philippe Carion, an officer of the Carignan Regiment, obtained the area as a concession in the Montreal Island Seigneury from Dollier de Casson and established a trading post. The name Carillon was first reported in 1686 in the journal of Chevalier de Troyes.
Around 1800, Scottish settlers established a community at the confluence of the North River (Rivière du Nord) and Rouge River near the Ottawa River. In 1819, the post office, initially named St. Andrews East, was established, adopting the patron saint's name of the Scottish settlers. The name was Frenchified to Saint-André-Est in 1978.
In 1821, John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, who served as the Prime Minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892, was born here. The Argenteuil Municipality was founded in 1845, but it was abolished two years later. In 1855, the Parish Municipality of Saint-André-d'Argenteuil was formed.
The nineteenth century saw the timber industry flourish in this section of the Laurentian Mountains. The first paper mill in Canada was built on this land in 1803. From the 1830s onward, Carillon became the site of the Carillon Canal, built to facilitate military transport up the Ottawa River. It was enlarged in the 1870s to accommodate commercial boat traffic. Today, it is a National Historic Site of Canada.
In 1959, construction began on the Carillon Generating Station and dam, raising the Ottawa River water level by over 62 feet (19 m) at Carillon, flooding the rapids of Long-Sault and transforming them into calm water.
Carillon and Saint-André-Est became independent municipalities in 1887 and 1958 respectively, their territories being separated from the Parish Municipality of Saint-André-d'Argenteuil. But on December 29, 1999, the Village Municipality of Saint-André-Est, the Village Municipality of Carillon, and the Parish Municipality of Saint-André-d'Argenteuil were rejoined into the new Municipality of Saint-André–Carillon, which was renamed on November 25, 2000, to Saint-André-d'Argenteuil.
Saint-André-d'Argenteuil, Quebec, is home to a diverse population. The majority of residents speak French as their first language (94.0%), while a smaller percentage speak English as their first language (4.8%). A small number of residents speak both English and French as their first language (0.3%), and other languages make up the remaining 0.9%.
