Val-des-Bois

Val-des-Bois is a municipality in Quebec (Canada), located in the Papineau Regional County Municipality (RCM) in the Outaouais administrative region. It is situated on the east bank of the Lièvre River, approximately 40 km north of Gatineau.

The 1861 census of the Province of Canada for the Township of Villeneuve recorded the presence of 13 family units composed of 93 people. The surnames appearing in this census are: Lépine (8 people), Lapratte (6 people), Lefebvre (11 people), David (12 people, 2 family units), Durand (7 people), Faubert (9 people), Seguin (6 people), Larocque (11 people), Prévost (11 people, 2 family units), Doe (1 person), and Saint-Denis (11 people).

The same census, for the Township of Bowman, shows that four shipyards were operating in this township; First camp (16 people), second camp (19 men), third camp (40 men), and fourth camp (40 men). In addition, 19 families were established in the same township.

In his report dated June 6, 1893, addressed to the Honorable E.J. Flynn, Commissioner of Crown Lands for the Province of Quebec, G.C. Rainboth concluded his report as follows: "Almost all the lots fronting on the river, in the part of the township which has long been divided, are taken up, and there is an industrious class of people residing on the banks of the river [Lièvre River] and enjoying the advantages of civilization to a degree unknown in many other prosperous settlements."

The township was organized and, for municipal purposes, united with the neighboring township of Bowman. There is a post office, named Val-des-Bois, and a clean and convenient Catholic chapel under the care of Reverend W.D. Richer, who is keenly interested in colonization. A steamer runs daily up and down from High Falls to Les Pins Falls, a journey of over twenty miles of uninterrupted navigation, and connects with the steamer plying the lower section, a journey of 25 miles, from High Falls to Buckingham, forming one of the prettiest navigable routes in Canada.

The mining industry is still only slightly developed. Many minerals are found there, and among the mining capitalists of the world, the township of Villeneuve is as well known by name as some of the most famous mining areas in the world. It is undoubtedly destined to become sooner or later the center of considerable mining operations.