Mattawa River - History

History

The Mattawa River had been used by native peoples as an important transportation corridor for many centuries. In 1610, Étienne Brûlé and in 1615, Samuel de Champlain were the first Europeans to travel the river. For some 200 years thereafter, it formed part of the important water route leading from Montreal west to Lake Superior. It was the primary access to the vast Canadian interior in the days of the fur trade. Canoes travelling west up the Ottawa turned left at "the Forks" (the mouth of the Mattawa) to enter the "Petite Rivière" ("Small River", as compared to the Ottawa), reaching Lake Nipissing by way of "La Vase Portage", an 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) stretch of water and portages.

Other notable travellers on the Mattawa included Jean Nicolet in 1620, Jean de Brébeuf in 1626, Gabriel Lallemant in 1648, Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers in 1658, La Verendrye in 1731, Alexander MacKenzie in 1794, and David Thompson in 1812.

In the 19th century, the river provided access to large untouched stands of white pine. The river was also used to transport logs to sawmills. The value of the Mattawa River as a transportation link ended in 1881 when the railroad was built to Mattawa.

Almost the full length of the river was protected as a provincial park in 1970 and has been designated as a Canadian Heritage River in January 1988. While logging is still an important industry in this region, its shores are now protected from further development and logging.

Today, the river and lakes are mainly used for recreation.