Duhamel, Quebec

Duhamel is a town and municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. It is the largest municipality in surface area in the Papineau Regional County Municipality.Its western portion consists mostly of undeveloped Laurentian Hills, part of the Papineau-Labelle Wildlife Reserve. The town itself is located along the Petite-Nation River between Lake Simon and Lake Gagnon.HistoryIn the mid 19th century, the area's forests were being exploited. Duhamel, which used to be called Preston, formed shortly after when its first settlers were assigned land, while logging continued to be the dominant factor for its colonization. By 1880, a post office existed bearing the name Duhamel, named in honour of Joseph-Thomas Duhamel (1841–1909), second bishop of Ottawa from 1874 to 1909. In 1888, the Mission of Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel opened. In 1892, the Township of Preston was formed (named after Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, Baron of Preston, and governor general of Canada from 1888 to 1893).Starting in 1925, the Singer Company, best known for its sewing machines, built a railway through Duhamel linking Thurso to Lake Montjoie (in Lac-Ernest unorganized territory). The railroad was used until 1980 when it was dismantled and converted to a tourism corridor.On August 15, 1936, the Municipality of Duhamel was formed when it separated from the United Township Municipality of Hartwell-et-Preston.