Cantley 1889 - Our past Our future
to discover document, protect and promote Cantley's history and heritage
Close to the nation’s capital is the rural municipality of Cantley, Québec. It borders the Gatineau River on the unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin people who are the traditional guardians of this land.
Cantley’s first pioneer farming settlers arrived from Scotland and Ireland by 1829. Its first local government was established in 1889. In 1975, Cantley was amalgamated into the city of Gatineau. Remarkably, in 1989, Cantley regained its independence thanks to the six-year “battle for independence” waged by its incredible volunteers and supported by 97% of its population.
Cantley 1889 is a registered not-for-profit organization founded in 2010 by volunteers interested in discovering and documenting Cantley's history and pre-history including the First Nations people of our region.
Our monthly L’Écho de Cantley articles, our activities and projects inform citizens about Cantley’s cultural and built heritage as well as its environmental heritage, particularly its agricultural farmlands, its unique geological formations, its mountains and forests.
Our volunteers research, write and advocate. We organize events, guided tours, create public photo displays and we created and regularly update Cantley1889 Virtual museum.
Support the work of Cantley 1889: become a member.
Cantley 1889 received these awards recognizing its work to discover, document, protect and promote Cantley's history and heritage.
Cantley 1889 Articles in The Echo of Cantley
Cantley 1889 volunteers have written more than 165 monthly articles of local historical interest. The Cantley 1889 Articles are published in the Echo of Cantley, a non-profit bilingual organization that produces Cantley's only community newspaper, and are reprinted here with permission.
The following article was first published in The Echo of Cantley in August 2026.
The Chelsea Dam and Generating Station, 1926 and before
Volume 52 of Up the Gatineau! is now for sale.
The Gatineau Valley Historical Society has published new collections of articles about the history of the Gatineau Valley annually since 1974. This year’s edition includes 14 stories and poems with beautiful illustrations. Its writers and editing and production teams are all volunteers. Louise Schwartz deserves special credit as its editor of this excellent publication.
Copies of Volume 52 are now available for $20 from Cantley’s IGA, Fadila Benabdeslam’s Proxim Pharmacy, retailers in Chelsea and Wakefield, or by emailing: publications@gvhs.ca or info.cantley1889@gmail.com.
Two of the articles are also available online at www.gvhs.ca, in both English and French: Saving Cantley by Margaret Phillips and A Hospice in the Gatineau Hills: From Dream to Reality by André Renaud
Visit
Cantley 1889 Virtual museum
Images and videos of Cantley's history and heritage showing Cantley's historical artefacts, buildings and sites. Created by Cantley 1889, Valérie Crevier and photographer Pierre Bélisle.
Visit
Parc Mary-Anne-Phillips (47 ch Summer, Cantley)Cantley’s restored Tugboat and Mine Car with their descriptive panels situated with a unique view of the Gatineau River.
In 2017, L'Embâcle, a sculpture carved from river logs, was installed here showing the symbolism of the river’s history.
This site is a memorial to Cantley’s early pioneers,
and to Cantley’s first European settler, Andrew Blackburn
For cemetery information, visit The Blackburn Pioneer Cemetery.
The cemetery is open to visitors.
60, chemin River, Cantley QC
This historic site is on the river beach where Cantley’s popular “Paddy Fleming” ferry once landed.
Its beautiful plaque was created by Cantley 1889 and funded by the municipalité de Cantley.
Click to view
Espace culturel (Library entrance)
(2nd floor, 6 Impasse des Étoiles, Cantley)
Pulpit, Pew and photos of Cantley’s St. Andrew’s United Church (1877); demolished 2020
Cantley 1889 Photo Displays : “Pioneering Spirits of Cantley” and “Cantley’s Mining Heritage”