History Articles

Thanksgiving Day, October 18, 1900, was a beautiful autumn day in the Ottawa area. The weather was sunny but cool, with a temperature about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The trees in the Gatineau Hills were ablaze in their autumn colours.

The word “bootlegging” apparently came into general use in the American Midwest in the 1880s. It denoted the practice of concealing flasks of illicit liquor in boot tops when going to trade with Indians.

THE GATINEAU

Toponymy is the study of place names. Herewith is a short list of Gatineau places and how they received their names…

Gatineau
The Gatineau River and the City of Gatineau were named after Nicholas Gatineau dit Duplessis, notary of Trois Rivières, Quebec. In about 1650, Gatineau tired of the hum-drum life and, wishing to return to his beloved France, turned to hunting and trapping on the Gatineau River to gather the needed cash for his voyage home. Gatineau did not realize his dream; legend tells us that he drowned in the river that now bears his name.

For over 150 years, a general store was operated by the Thomson family at the corner of Victoria and Galipeau Streets, the main east-west and north-south crossroads in the very centre of the village of Thurso. History passed by its doorstep and the news of its inhabitants could be heard within its doors.