SOME HISTORY – FROM 1878 UNTIL NOW...

La municipalité de Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard a connu trois périodes importantes : sa fondation, il y a plus de cent ans, une période de croissance accélérée à partir des années 1950 et enfin, une période de stabilisation depuis le début des années 1990.

The municipality of Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard has lived through three important periods in its existence: its foundation over a century ago, then a period of hasty growth since the 1950s, and finally a period of stabilization since the beginning of the 1990s.

The Saint-Joseph mission, founded in 1878, became the parish of Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard in 1911. It presided in some way over the creation of the municipality of the canton of Howard in 1883, and then finally Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard in 1939.

In accordance with the old Article 35 of the municipal code, the municipality was founded on January 1st 1883. At that time settlers coming to the canton of Howard were attracted by the wide-open spaces and the forests that covered them. The first founders settled on the southern edge of the canton near Morin-Heights and Montfort, and later in the north of the canton near Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts.
Later on, new residents settled around Lake Saint-Joseph. At present, none of these historical facts can explain exactly why the village was born at this particular spot, nor why the first chapel was built alongside the lake. The beauty of the lake and the possibility of building sawmills were probably factors that influenced the choice of this site.

In 1900, the Bellefleur sawmill was built on a piece of land behind the present post office. History also tells us that there were other sawmills at Lake Chevreuil, on the road to Lake Beauchamp, on the site of Francistown (the present Chemin Morgan) and near the river at its entry into Lake Saint-Joseph.

The first settlers drew their livelihood from the land they cultivated. Photos from the beginning of the century show us the shores of Lake Saint-Joseph totally devoid of trees with crops growing side by side next to fields of stones. The inhabitants of the village at that time managed to feed themselves as well as they could despite the uneven landscape and the thin cover of arable soil in the area. This region is however considered unsuitable for agriculture.

From 1883, nearly all parts of the canton were accessible by tracks. In general, these crossed the land in a vertical gradient. Most of today’s roads follow the same routes as in the past, and this explains why they are so twisting. At this same time the Grand Chemin (high road – today Chemin du Village or highway 329) was built from Morin-Heights through to Lake Saint-Joseph, later connecting to the village of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts.

As time went by, this road came to be used as the route for many tourists, who took advantage of these leisure spots to indulge in hunting and fishing in particular.

Right from when Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard began to develop its tourist infrastructure, visitors were able to find hotels and boarding-houses which became very popular, as well as many vacation camps which for a long time have occupied a great deal of land in the municipality. These include the YMCA which set itself up on one of the islands in Lake Saint-Joseph in 1893. This holiday camp has now disappeared, but many of the other old camps are still functioning today.

In 1906, the village became so large that the municipality built a gravity delivery system drawing water from Lake Bois-Franc. This water system remained in service until the early 1990s.

Other technological improvements include the first telephone in 1928, and the arrival of electricity brought by Gatineau Power in 1947. Shortly afterwards, many lots along Lake Saint-Joseph (lots 32 and 33 on Range 03) were sold to tourists. And the village continued to develop.

Early in 1950, the Canadian Armed Forces contributed to the development of the local economy and the arrival of more families by building a military base and installing radar detection equipment. This equipment, particularly the radar dome, is very noticeable, and indeed serves as an important landmark. 

As Québec’s road network has improved, especially with the advent of the Laurentian highway 15 and with the increase in population around 1960, Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard has become a popular tourist destination.

At this same time, several developers built roads leading to many lakes where they sold land in small plots, usually less than 2000 m². The present road network represents how well this type of development has been encouraged. At the end of some roads signs have been put up indicating that access to the lakeside properties is private. This applies especially to large residential developments where there were no previous regulations. Save for a few, most of the more responsible developers had their own rules to follow. But these internal rules were more likely to concern architectural rather than environmental standards. 

Today, Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard has become one of the major vacation centres in the Laurentians. Its numerous festivals and open-air activities make it a place which is greatly appreciated by both the local population and by visitors.