East Ferris turns 100 years old in 2021 and the Centennial Celebration includes a book featuring the Village of Corbeil and the history of the municipality.
The publication is entitled Corbeil, notre chez-nous, our home and completes the set began in 2016 with Astorville, notre chez-nous. Both publications will be available for purchase at the East Ferris Public Library in time for Christmas
Mayor Pauline Rochefort said all the historical perspective is included, noting it’s one of the things coming out of the Centennial Celebration Organizing Committee. Members include Joanne St-Denis, Lisanne Last, Cécile Barham, Gilles Mathon, and Richard Champagne, as well as municipal representatives Councillor Steven Trahan, CAO Jason Trottier, Clerk Monica Hawkins and Rochefort.
The book’s editorial committee is composed of Derek Hagard, Jean Langlois, Laurette Taillefer, Lynn Dubien, Michelle St-Onge, Oscar Giroux, Paulette Corbeil, Paul Rochefort, Pauline Rochefort, Richard Champagne, Rolland Boissonneault, Shirley Marasse, Suzanne Taillefer Boland, Lucille Voyer, Michel Voyer, Bill Vrebosch and Gisèle Vrebosch. They have been working for months collecting stories and photos. There is a Facebook page Corbeil Ancestry with nearly 700 members that has been very active feeding valuable information.
A description of the 350-page book explains that it tells the story of Corbeil from the perspective of the pioneering families. It builds on the history of the Algonquins, who were the first occupants of the territory, and documents the first European visitors who traveled through the region. And it describes how it was the logging and railway industries that substantially paved the way for a more permanent settlement. Government land grants also helped increase the population of the settlement nestled between lakes Nipissing, Trout, and Nosbonsing.
The Municipality was surveyed as a geographic township in 1880 and in 1885 it was incorporated as the Corporation of the Township of Ferris. In 1921 the Township of Ferris was split into the Township of West Ferris (which was amalgamated as part of the City of North Bay along with the Township of Widdifield in 1968) and the Township of East Ferris. In 2010, the Township of East Ferris was renamed the Municipality of East Ferris.
If you have any photos or stories to tell, contact Michelle St. Onge via email: [email protected]. Photos and stories are being accepted until October 25.
