- Portage-du-Fort, Quebec
Infobox Settlement
name = Portage-du-Fort
other_name =
native_name =
nickname =
settlement_type =Village 
imagesize = 245px
image_caption =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = CAN
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = QC
subdivision_type2 = Region
subdivision_name2 =Outaouais
subdivision_type3 = RCM
subdivision_name3 = Pontiac
government_type =
leader_title =Mayor
leader_name =Gérald Manwell
leader_title1 =Federal MP
(Pontiac)
leader_name1 =Lawrence Cannon
(Conservative Party
of Canada)
leader_title2 =Quebec MNA
(Pontiac)
leader_name2 =Charlotte L'Ecuyer
(Parti Libéral du Québec)
established_title = Constitution
established_date = January 1, 1863
area_magnitude =
unit_pref =
area_footnotes =
area_total_km2 =
area_land_km2 = 4.36
area_water_km2 =
area_water_percent =
population_as_of = 2006
population_footnotes =
population_note =
population_total = 280
population_density_km2 = 64.2
population_blank1_title =Change ~2001
population_blank1 = +9.8%
population_blank2_title =Dwellings
population_blank2 = 141
population_density_blank1_km2 = |population_density_blank1_sq_mi =
timezone = EST
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
coor_type = 24, rue-de-l'Eglise
latd=45 |latm=35 |lats=32 |latNS=N
longd=76 |longm=39 |longs=58 |longEW=W
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m =
postal_code_type = Postal Code
postal_code = J0X 2T0
area_code =
blank_name =Access Routes
blank_info = jct|state=QC|QC|301
jct|state=QC|QC|303
blank1_name =
blank1_info =
website =
footnotes =Portage-du-Fort is a village and municipality in the Pontiac Regional County Municipality in the southwest corner of the
Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. The village lies across theOttawa River from Chenaux, Ontario.At Portage-du-Fort there is a dam, the , and bridge across the Ottawa River.
Toponymy
Portage-du-Fort is named after the
portage trail which started here and would lead upstream around a set of falls on the Ottawa River.However there are several hypotheses to explain the "Fort" portion. Among the most popular is the assumption that a fort was present here on the shore of the Ottawa River to keep provisions at the portage. It has been claimed that a fort called Dufort was flooded in the rapids at this location. However, some researchers argue that the fort in question has never existed and may be a reference to another fort at the mouth of the
Coulonge River (after which modern Fort-Coulonge is named). Moreover, the word formerly did not always convey a military connotation and could be more or less synonymous with a village or hamlet, or even a post or warehouse which was fortified.One theory suggests that the name goes back to a custom of the
Algonquin s who would paint their bodies here and it was originally named "Portage du Fard" (French for "make-up"), which changed into "Fort".Another possibility is that "Fort" (French also for "strong") makes reference to the strength needed to haul the heavy canoes and supplies over the arduous portage.
But there is no certainty on any of these theories.
History
In 1611, a French scout named Nicolas Vignau arrived at this site together with a group of Algonquins while on their way to
Allumette Island . From here they had toportage around a series of 5 difficult waterfalls on the Ottawa River. The portage from Harbor Square to Bentley's Landing is one of the oldest trails in North America because the Native peoples inhabiting the valley have used it for thousands of years.cite web |url=http://www.mrcpontiac.qc.ca/en/dossiers/dossiers.php?id_dossier=42 |title=Pontiac MRC Gateway: Portage-du-Fort |accessdate=2008-07-11 |publisher=Pontiac MRC Gateway]In 1694, Louis d'Ailleboust, Sieur de Coulonge, established a fur trading post near the mouth of the
Coulonge River . Subsequently the long portage around the falls that led to Fort Coulonge became known as "le portage du fort". But the site was only periodically inhabited, based on travel periods, especially in spring and early summer.cite web |url=http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/topos/carto.asp?Speci=50703&Latitude=45,6&Longitude=-76,66666&Zoom=1700 |title=Municipalité de Village de Portage-du-Fort |accessdate=2008-07-11 |publisher=Commission de toponymie du Québec |language=French]In the early 19th century
timber slide s were built around the falls, allowing loggers easy access to Pontiac County and Portage-du-Fort became the hub for all traffic connected with the lumber industry.The first real settlers came in 1844, the year when the village was surveyed. In 1847, the post office opened and Henry Osborne built a depot with storehouse to supply the lumber industry further inland. On September 19, 1855, Portage-du-Fort became the county seat with Patrick Fox as its first mayor and warden.cite web |url=http://www.pontiacarchives.org/2007/01/13/portage-du-fort |title=Portage-du-Fort |accessdate=2008-07-11 |publisher=Pontiac Archives] Portage du Fort was home to the area's first newspaper, the "Pontiac Pioneer" and "Portage du Fort Advertiser", which was published by G.E. White from 1855 to 1865. From 1860 onward, Portage-du-Fort was an important centre of the Pontiac with its mills, its train station, and its terminus for steam boats carrying grain and wood.
This prosperity led to the creation of the municipality in 1863 when it separated from the municipality of Litchfield Township. That same year Stanislas Drapeau wrote:
However, a serious fire in 1914 almost destroyed the place entirely and curbed its development for many years. Further decline came when the
Canadian Northern Railway bypassed the village.
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