Attracted by the fertile land and microclimate on Île du Collège (Collège island), newcomers established themselves on the island from the outset of settlement. It was indeed the ideal location in Témiscamingue to grow crops. When the lake’s water level rose by 22 feet (about 6.5 metres) in 1917, the distance separating the island from the mainland went from a few feet (“a horse’s leap,” used to say Mrs. M. J. Rannou Girard) to nearly 1,200 feet (about 370 metres). From then on, islanders were isolated for several months a year. They used the ferry in summer and crossed on the ice in winter, but in between these seasons the inhabitants were practically captives of the island.

After making repeated requests to the municipality of Duhamel-Ouest and the government, a grant was finally awarded in 1947 to begin the construction of a causeway that would connect the island to the mainland. In the summer of 1948, the islanders were able to use the bridge and thus break their isolation.

DID YOU KNOW ?

In 1917, the rise of the lake’s water level caused by the Timiskaming dam to facilitate navigation and timber drives isolated the inhabitants of Île du Collège, who were forced to use the ferry in summer and to travel on the ice road in winter to cross.