Masolian

Masolian stands at the mouth of the Richelieu, where it meets the Saint Lawrence near the islands at the head of Lake Saint-Pierre. The Abenaki name, also given as Masessolian, means “much silver”; the river itself is called Masoliantekw. In 1642 the French built Fort Richelieu on the riverbank. Rebuilt in 1665, it took the name of Pierre de Saurel, an officer who received the surrounding seigneury in 1672. After the American War of Independence, Loyalists settled in the area under British rule.