"You had to rough it. You want to be tough.
You've got to live in the north country on the Bonnechere . . . because
they have seen everything up there . . . that's for sure."
"It was a really good life."
-Hannah McGuey Hyland
For thousands of years people have found food, shelter and comfort along the Bonnechere. Surrounded by rugged country, this gentle river, as it is described in a popular folk tale, provides for those who settle along her shores.
The timber trade of the 19th century dominates much of the recorded history of the Bonnechere, when pine was king and Europe focused its economic attention on the rich forests of the Ottawa Valley. But Native groups, fur traders, surveyors, depot farmers and their descendants have also left their mark. This timeline presents words and images to reach through the years to provide a glimpse of a place close at hand, but of a time now far away.
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