HISTORY

The Duchesnay name is synonymous with the forest. It was associated with this territory, which still bears the name, beginning in 1767, the year in which Antoine Juchereau-Duchesnay, seignior of Gaudarville, inherited the Fossambault seigniory. The territories of the seigniories of Gaudarville and Fossambault were combined under the name of "Duchesnay domain". Logging was carried out on the property beginning in the late 19th century first by M. A. W. Sewell, then by Harold Kennedy, a member of the illustrious Kennedy family known for its involvement in American politics.

Finally, following the assignment of the property to a logging company in 1929, the Crown recovered the territory in 1932 to set up a forest ranger school there. Over the years, the curriculum diversified. Courses were also given in such fields as measuring and classifying wood or sharpening and operating sawmill equipment. Following several transactions and purchases involving lots, the territory finally attained a surface area of 8,890 hectares, or 89 km². A plant grafting and production centre, an arboretum and various experimental sectors used for both teaching and applied research in the forestry sciences field, would be set up at Duchesnay.

The government transferred this territory to Sépaq on April 1, 1999. Sépaq then set up a consultation body made up of local and regional representatives called upon to propose a development plan that would give birth to the Station touristique Duchesnay. To date, over $6 million dollars has been invested in the application of this development plan, which seeks to make Duchesnay a major tourist attraction of the National Capital Region.