Christ Church Aylmer is Aylmer's oldest original church building. The church's foundation stone was laid in 1843. Our long history reflects the history of Aylmer itself. This page outlines the history of Aylmer and the church, starting in the 17th century.
The Ottawa Valley (Eastern Ontario and Western Québec, commonly called l’Outaouais) was an important trading route in the history of the development of Canada. Fur traders used the Ottawa River to get into the hinterland to trade for fur goods.
Originally this was an inn and stopping place for Ottawa River travellers. It is believed to have been originally owned by André Galipeau, who was active in parish, school and municipal affairs. Indeed, the inn served as a meeting place for the local village council until other public buildings became available.
Norma Geggie (Reprinted with permission from Wakefield Revisited, 2003)
There are several small private cemeteries in the Wakefield area, possibly due to the fact that none of the churches within the community had property enough to provide for burial.
An area for a cemetery was donated by George Hall, on land adjoining his farm property on the outskirts of the village. This thus became the earliest community burial ground, holding the headstones of many of the original Protestant settlers (including William Fairbairn).
Carol Martin (Reprinted from Quebec Heritage News, March-April 2008)
Two cemeteries, within a mile of each other, in Chelsea, Quebec, are current success stories.
Nestled in the Gatineau Hills, half an hour’s drive from Canada’s capital, the villages of Chelsea and Old Chelsea offer a gateway to recreation in the National Capital Commission’s Gatineau Park, and a pleasant village core area for residents and visitors to the Municipality of Chelsea.
Ernie Mahoney (Text reprinted with permission from Up the Gatineau!, Vol. 23)
It was close to midnight on a warm July evening in 1984 when flames seared the sky in one of the worst fires that West Quebec has ever seen. It was caused by arson, a gasoline-soaked car pushed onto the east side of Wakefield’s historic wooden covered bridge and torched, turning the tinder-dry, 70-year-old structure to a roaring inferno within seven minutes.
Matthew Farfan ( Reproduced from Laurentian Heritage WebMagazine)
What is heritage? Webster's defines it as "property that is or can be inherited; something handed down from one's ancestors or the past; a characteristic, culture, or tradition."
Ray and Diana Baillie (Text reprinted with permission from Imprints: Discovering the Face of English Quebec, 2001)
The workers were mostly French-speakers; the craftsmen included many Scandinavians skilled in log construction; and the architect was Harold Lawson. In 1930, they built here the largest log structure in the world.
Bruce Ballantyne (Text reprinted with permission from Up the Gatineau!, Vol. 24)
The rigours of travel in the nineteenth century, with poor or even nonexistent roads, dictated the very slow pace at which a traveller could complete the miles he or she needed to go.Distances of approximately three to five miles were all that these rugged souls could achieve either on foot or with horse and wagon before a stop was needed to rest the horse or the body.
