East Fort Frances

EXPLORE THESE HERITAGE SITES EAST OF FORT FRANCES

The Causeway  

The Causeway was officially opened in 1965 providing a vital link to the east. Construction of the bridge began in 1958. The finished bridge, which is 3.5 miles long and 36 feet tall at it's highest point, cost a total of $7,341,898.03 to build. To the south is the Canadian Northern railway, originally constructed in 1902. The bridge to the west is lifted to provide access for boat traffic. To the west the shores of Rainy Lake are part of the Couchiching First Nations. The large docking facility is known as the 5 mile dock and serves a variety of residents. During the summer this lookout provides a launching area for local boaters. During the winter a winter paradise awaits snowmobilers, and an ice road leaves from the 5 mile dock.

Couchiching First Nation

A Chief and six Councillors, who are elected under the Indian Act, govern Couchiching First Nation. The First Nation's political organization is with Grand Council Treaty #3. As of 2009, the population of registered Couchiching First Nations was 2,035 with 663 being on-reserve status, with 619 of them living in Couchiching, and 1,372 being off reserve. Treaty #3 of October 3, 1873, between the Dominion of Canada and the Saulteaux tribe of Ojibways and others, ceded 55,000 square miles lying west of the Great Lakes and a small portion of SE Manitoba.

Lady of Lourdes, Roman Catholic Church

Located on Couchiching First Nation and originally built in 1898, a second church was built in 1914 and was run by Jesuit Missionaries. This church burned down in 1920. A new building was erected in 1948 and stands on the foundation of the original church.

Rainy Lake Lookout Hwy 11

Ontario Historical Plaque

Jacques de Noyon

Jacques de Noyon, the first white man to arrive in this area is recognized on this plaque. Born at Trois-Rivières and brought up at Boucherville, Jacques de Noyon, explorer, fur trader and soldier, set out in 1688 for Lake Superior. He ascended the Kaministiqua River, the first European known to have explored this route to the Northwest. Near Fort Frances he established a post where he passed the winter, and then pushed on to Lake of the Woods where he traded with Assiniboine Indians. From them he learned of the route to the Red River. Returning to Montreal in 1689, he made a report on this route which was of value to later explorers, particularily Pierre de La Verendrye in 1732. Noyon's post in 1688 makes Fort Frances the oldest settlement of continued existence west of Lake Superior.

More information at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trois-Rivieres