The French Presence in Lafontaine

Photo by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted October, 2007

Plaque Location

The County of Simcoe
The Township of Tiny
In Lafontaine, on the north side of Lafontaine Road
(the main east-west road through the village), near the LCBO

Coordinates: N 44 45.485 W 80 03.192

Plaque Text

French explorers first arrived in the Lafontaine area around 1610. An intermittent French presence of fur traders, soldiers and missionaries continued until 1650 when the sojourns ended after the Huron-Iroquois wars. Eventually a group of former French Canadian and Métis voyageurs from Drummond Island settled here in 1830 followed by successive waves of immigrants from Quebec, the three main groups originating from Batiscan, Joliette and the counties of Soulanges and Vaudreuil. The church and parish of Sainte-Croix were established in 1856 and the village was named after the French-Canadian statesman Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine. A high concentration of Francophones, a strong sense of community and vigorous institutions have nurtured Lafontaine's vibrant Franco-Ontarian culture.

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