Prior to Settlement

The Treaty of Paris signed by England, France, Spain and Portugal divided up the North American Colonies between these powers. France ceded all its possessions in North America, except Louisiana and the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon in the mouth of the St. Lawrence to England. Very much unlike the custom of the time, the French settlers land, religion, and laws were to be guaranteed by the British Government.

Thus began preparation for establishing England's presence in Quebec. Rawdon was the ninth English settlement in the newly granted Canadas, the third one on the north shore of the St Lawrence. The first two were in the Pontiac region and the other north of Quebec City.

In 1783 Richard Holland, a government surveyor, subdivided each of the first two ranges of the Township of Rawdon into 28 lots of 200 acres each.

As new settlers arrived, more ranges were surveyed, now by Joseph Bouchette.

One of the early and prominent settlers was Lt. Col. Philemon Dugas who settled on lot 28 of the 1st range about 1816. This lot was possibly a government grant for his services in the British army during the American Revolution.

In 1817 Philemon, Isaac Dugas, and Pierre Richard built a grist mill on lot 24 of the 1st range. Later Philemon bought his two partners out.

Philemon built a saw mill and grist on his own lot. The saw mill was left to his only son, Firmin who operated it until his sudden death in 1899.

His son, Louis, sold the mill to his cousins Sam, George, and William Lord. They dug seven arpents along the river to augment the power for the mills which re-opened in 1902. The grist mill was slowly abandoned.

In 1938 the saw mill was sold to Alcide Levesque of Rawdon who continued to operate it. It was destroyed by fire in 1976.

Sometime before 1824 Roderick McKenzie of Terrebonne and St Sulpice built two more mills just below the Dugas mills. The manager of this mill was David Manchester and the mills became known as Manchester Mills.