Theme no. 8 of the exhibit "The Irish Presence in Rawdon, Yesterday and Today", held at the Centre d'interprétation multiethnique de Rawdon, Saturdays and Sundays between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. from March 2 to 30, 2025 (except on March 22).
From subsistence to self-sufficiency
Some 800 acres had been cleared in Rawdon township by 1825. Also, 44 houses and 25 barns had been built.
In the early 19th century, clearing land, farming, forestry and potash production were the main economic activities in the township.
Irish settlers took their logs to the sawmill to produce lumber for houses and outbuildings. Grain was milled for animal feed or flour for human consumption.
In the early 19th century, subsistence farming, land clearing and potash production were the main economic activities in the township.
Fledgling agriculture required the construction of flour mills, which were built from the late 1820s onwards.
Small sawmills were also built. Sawmills were needed to produce boards and planks and provided essential materials for the construction of the first houses.
Finally, potash was also produced as a result of land clearing. Given the large number of trees felled at the time of settlement, many families took advantage of the opportunity to produce potash and enrich their soils with the fertilizer obtained. The potash industry produced laundry soap, glass and even yeast for bread and cakes. Families, such as the Copping and Burns families, shipped surplus potash to Montréal every month.
In the northwest of the township, in an area recognized as Mount Loyal community, Irish families, including the Smileys, Joneses and Rowans, developed an autonomous social and economic life, with a church, post office and school.
Flax grown in Rawdon was mainly used to make linen for clothing.
Cattle were used for both transport and food.
Rawdon was recognized at the London Industrial Exhibition in 1851 for the development of red clover seed.
Other Irish families, including the Mason, Sadler, Hamilton and Powell families, contributed to the development of the mills and provided the material and human resources needed for agricultural work. The district of Masonville is reminiscent of the Irish family of the same name.
The outlying hamlet of Mount Loyal was also founded by Irish farmers, in the 9th Range. Between 1824 and 1850, the families cleared the land and managed to develop an autonomous social and economic life there. Through mutual aid, they also built a chapel, a post office and a school in the hamlet. The family of John Smiley and Caroline Dixon, Irish Protestants, was one of the most influential in the Mount Loyal area, along with the Drought, Jones and Rowan families.
Around 1825, some 800 acres were cleared in Rawdon township. The Surveyor General Joseph Bouchette also counted 44 houses and 25 barns. Even the farm animals were counted: 19 horses, 85 cows, 27 pigs and 7 sheep. It was a modest start, but the numbers were set to grow rapidly.
Animals helped with transport and made work easier, but they were also important for subsistence. Meat, eggs and milk were staple foods, in addition to what could be harvested from the fields. Maple sugar was also widely produced for family consumption.
When a piece of land was cleared, wheat, oats, hemp and flax were usually sown. Flax, a plant that gave rise to an entire textile industry in Ireland, was also grown in Rawdon. Its seeds could be eaten, but it was above all its fibres, used to make clothes, that made its reputation.
In the 19th century, the region was known for a few innovations, including the local production of an unusual clover seed: Rawdon red clover. The clover enriched the soil and was suitable for grazing animals. In 1851, John Jefferies, a large landowner, received a medal from Prince Albert at the London Industrial Exhibition for his red clover seed. red clover.
Entrepreneurs
Rawdon’s history was also marked by commercial success. Local entrepreneurs, including brothers Jeremiah and George Robinson and John George Scroggie, founded retail chains. The Robinson Department Stores experienced significant growth in Western Canada, where at one time, there were more than 180 shops.
Our Scroggie Department Store was also the first dry goods store to open in downtown Montréal in 1882, before giving way to Eaton’s. It was also John George Scroggie who organized the first Santa Claus parade in Montréal in 1910.
