Quyon is a village in Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais Regional County Municipality

Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais Regional County Municipality, Quebec

Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais is a regional county municipality in the Outaouais region of western Quebec, Canada. The region nearly encircles the City of Gatineau which is to the south...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is located within the Pontiac Municipality

Pontiac, Quebec

Pontiac is a municipality in western Quebec, Canada, in Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais Regional County Municipality on the Rivière des Outaouais , created through the forced amalgamation of North and South Onslow, Quyon, Eardlyy, and Luskville. It should not be confused with the Pontiac Regional...

.

Geography

Quyon is located on the Ottawa River

Ottawa River

The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...

 north of Aylmer

Aylmer, Quebec

Aylmer is a former city in Quebec, Canada. It became a sector of the City of Gatineau on January 1, 2002. Located on the Ottawa River and Route 148 it is a part of the National Capital Region. The population in 2006 was 41 882 — approx. 16% of Gatineau...

, at the mouth of the Quyon River. The West Carleton-Quyon Ferry connects Quyon to the city of Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

 (near Fitzroy Harbour

Fitzroy Harbour, Ontario

Fitzroy Harbour is a small village within the city of Ottawa in eastern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Ottawa River at the mouth of the Carp River. A branch of the Mississippi River, known as the Snye, also empties into the Ottawa to the west of the village.The town was founded by Charles...

) in the summer.

Landmarks of interest include St. Mary's church and Gavan's Hotel, named after former proprietor Lennox Gavan. Gavan's has been a favorite of locals and Ontarians who routinely cross the river to partake in the later closing time for establishments in Quebec. Gavan's daughter Gail has been a local favorite entertainer who no longer resides in Quyon but returns frequently to sing at Gavan's and other local events. McCann's Chips, owned and operated by Mae McCann, and in earlier times her late husband Ervin, has been located in downtown Quyon for over 30 years and is one of the last surviving establishments offering food in Quyon. Many existing Quyon residents have connections to North Onslow and Wolf Lake, neighbouring communities. The primary industries in times past were forestry and farming. Three kilometres southeast of Quyon is Camp B'nai Brith of Ottawa, a Jewish summer camp run from Ottawa, established in 1936, and serving campers from across North America. Today, most who reside in Quyon work in Ottawa or other locations outside of the immediate vicinity.

History

Already the site of the Sainte-Marie Mission, the village was founded in 1848 by John Egan

John Egan (Canadian politician)

John Egan was an Irish-Canadian businessman and political figure in the Ottawa region.He was born near Aughrim, Ireland, in 1811. He came to Aylmer, Lower Canada, Canada, in 1830. After working with a lumber company on the upper Ottawa River, he entered the business himself near Bytown...

, a lumber baron of the Ottawa Valley and mayor of Aylmer from 1847 to 1855. It derived its name from the Quyon River, a tributary of the Ottawa River that was used by Egan for log driving

Log driving

Log driving is a means of log transport which makes use of a river's current to move floating tree trunks downstream to sawmills and pulp mills.It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America...

, and was originally spelled "Quio", from the Native Algonquin word kweia , meaning "Smaller River" or "sandy bottom river".

The area was heavily settled by Irish immigrants

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 during the mid-19th century after the Great Famine forced many to emigrate for their survival. The town was incorporated on January 1, 1875, and its spelling was changed to "Quyon" to provide a compromise prononciation equally acceptable to both French and English speaking residents. It experienced a period of prosperity because of the railroad built by the Union Forwading Company.

The village municipality of Quyon, along with the neighbouring municipalities of Onslow, Onslow-Partie-Sud, and Eardley, was amalgamated into the municipality of Pontiac in 1975.