The Irish are rightfully credited with the foundation of Rawdon. Although their names do not appear on the official lists of the first settlers, they were, in fact, the first to come and settle in Rawdon in 1816. With the French Canadians, they constituted a significant Catholic community that is still reflected today in the name of the parish: Marie-Reine-du-Monde and St. Patrick of Rawdon.
Grosse-Île. "The Island of the Irish".
This island was used as a quarantine area for the sanitary control of immigrants from 1832 to 1937.