French settlers in the area.
1611: The first white man on the Lac des Deux Montagnes was Etienne Brule. Étienne Brûlé. (Note: Regarding the designation "The Lake of the Two Mountains" or "The Lake of Two Mountains," there is no widespread agreement as to which mountains constitute the two mountains in the name. In the past, some believed that the two mountains in question were Mont Rigaud [220 metres in height), on the south side of the river, and Mont Blue [245 metres in height] on the north side of the Ottawa. However, it is generally conceded today that neither Mont Rigaud nor Mont Blue constitute the "two mountains" in question. Rather, it is deemed more likely that the "two mountains" are Montagne du Calvaire [which ranges between 150 to 190 metres in height] and Montagnes St-Sulpice [which is approximately 120 metres in height]. This latter mountain is in the vicinity of La Grande Baie, east of the village of Oka. See Jean-Paul Ladouceur, "Note de Recherche: A La Recherche des Deux Montagnes," RHAF, Vol. LII No. 3 (Winter 1999), pp. 1-21.)
1612: Du Vigneau follows Brule's trip of the previous year.
1613: Samuel de Champlain paddles up the Lac des Deux Montagnes on his way west on October 11.
1615: Samuel de Champlain and Etienne Brule explore the Ottawa River, searching for the northwest passage, Georgia Bay, and Lake Ontario.
1615: The Recollets pass through the Lac des Deux Montagnes on their way to establish a mission to the Hurons on what is today Georgian Bay (Huronia).
1629: Champlain is captured by the English, and is held captive in England until 1632. Upon his return to New France, he is named governor, and remains such until his death in 1635.
1635: Samuel de Champlain dies at Quebec City. (In an interesting introduction to La Découverte du Canada, Tome Premier, Naissance du Canada et Mystère Champlain, published by Les Amis de L'Histoire, Montreal, 1969, Jean Dumont suggests that Champlain may have been a Spanish spy. We do not know what to make of this point, or even whether to take the suggestion seriously, but if it is true, it is certainly very interesting.)
1656: Father Garreau, S.J., is killed by Iroquois at Pointe Cavagnal.
1660: Dollard des Ormeaux and sixteen companions pass through Lac des Deux Montagnes to their date with destiny at Catillon. (Research designed to find the actual location of the battle between Dollard and his sixteen companions and the Iroquois was conducted in the 1960s, and while it was not possible to find conclusive evidence pointing to the place where the May 1660 skirmish occurred, it was the view of those conducting the research at that time that the best bet was at a place on the south shore of the Ottawa river in the vicinity of the village of Chute a Blondeau.)
1670: The expedition of Simon-François Dumont pass through Lac des Deux Montagnes on its way to Lake Superior.
1686: D'Iberville leads a military expedition across the Lac des Deux Montagnes in winter crossing on the ice.
1686: Radisson and Desgrosselier go up the Ottawa on their way to Hudson Bay.
1687: The parish of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue is founded at the western tip of the Island of Montreal.
1689: August 4th. The Lachine Massacre takes place and all but brings to a halt westward expansion and settlement of the most easterly parts of the Ottawa river valley for a period of about twenty-five years.
1690: The founding of the parish of the Annunciation (Oka).
1692: The construction of the fort at Senneville by Jacques Le Ber. The object of those constructing this fort was to position the occupants of the fort so as to have first choice in furs brought down the Ottawa by the tribes of the upper Ottawa. (Whereas most fort constructed around the island of Montreal were made of wood, this fort was built in stone.)