Theme no. 4 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 1820 onwards, pioneer families who obtained Tickets of Location used freshly cleared roads. For example, the settlers opened a road near the Red River and Philemon Dugas’s mill, in Range 1. The road gradually served the lots farther north, located in the last ranges of the township.
Irish families named Burns, Brown, Corcoran, Eveleigh, Robinson, Scroggie and Smiley likely used this road to settle on their lots in Ranges 3 to 9. The opening of roads, the arrival of settlers and the work that followed were essential to the growth of the population and the establishment of a community.
The first census of 1825, signed by Philemon Dugas, reveals that nearly 75% of the 475 inhabitants were born in Ireland.
The township’s population grew rapidly, increasing by 170% between 1825 and 1832, reaching 1,309 inhabitants. By 1844, the population had doubled again to 2,607. However, after 1844, the population began to decline due to emigration to the United States, Upper Canada and the West.
In 1825, the first census, signed by Philemon Dugas, was submitted to James Edmund Burton, a key figure in the arrival of the first Irish, Scottish and English families.
The first census also recorded the arrival of a few American, English, Scottish and French-Canadian families. It was the birth of a community that was destined to become increasingly diverse, with Catholics and Protestants alike working hard to welcome new citizens.
The settlement of the township came with soaring population growth. The number of people increased by 170% between 1825 and the second census in 1832. There were then 1,309 inhabitants, over 55% of whom were Protestants.
Growth remained steady, and the third census in 1844 illustrated Rawdon’s continuing appeal. The population had doubled since 1832, reaching 2,607. The establishment of the Catholic parish in the 1830s and overpopulation in the neighbouring seigneuries led more and more French Canadians to want to settle in Rawdon.
The demographic picture changed after 1844: the population declined. This was not necessarily unique to Rawdon. In Quebec, hundreds of thousands of French Canadians left for the United States or Ontario between 1840 and 1914. Families of British and Irish origin did the same, in search of better-paid jobs or new land.
The mountainous terrain of part of the township and the harsh climate were however disadvantages specific to the township. Also, new municipal boundaries, with the creation of Sainte-Julienne and Saint-Liguori, cut into both the western and eastern parts of Rawdon township, at the level of the first ranges.
In 1901, there were 1,117 inhabitants, 49% of whom identified themselves as of Irish descent.
Despite this decline, the diversity of the population increased in the 20th century with the arrival of immigrants from various countries. According to Quebec government sources, in December 2024, Rawdon had a population of 12,722 citizens.
The parity between Catholics and Protestants was maintained well into the 19th century. Catholics formed the majority of the population from 1881 onwards, and this situation did not really change thereafter.
French Canadians became increasingly numerous in Rawdon, although they still accounted for only 39% of the population in 1891.
Finally, the population began to rise again in the 20th century. Thanks to its diversity, many immigrants from Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Germany and several other countries chose Rawdon after 1900, giving the municipality a distinctive character.
