The Société des vingt et un arrived in what is now the Grande-Baie sector on June 11, 1838.
After surveying the forest and assessing its potential, the colonists built the first lock on the Ha!
Ha!
River.
In October of that same year, they completed the first sawmill and created the foundation of what would become Grande-Baie.
The first families arrived during the fall, and jack pine and Eastern white pine logging operations began in 1839.
The hydraulic power of the two main rivers, Ha!
Ha!
and Mars, and the bay's tributaries was used to run several sawmills.
Mars Simard, a resident of Baie-Saint-Paul, opened his own sawmill on the Mars River and founded Bagotville, the bay's second settlement.
Colonists from Baie-Saint-Paul moved to the new outpost, while those from La Malbaie preferred Grande-Baie, which had 110 inhabitants in 1839.

The Société des Vingt et un began to struggle after it lost two years worth of cutting when log-booms breached in 1840 and 1841.
Their main purchaser, an English wood merchant named William Price, acquired all of the company's shares in 1842.
He also bought the Mars Simard sawmill in 1843, making Price the owner of every sawmill in lower Saguenay.

The end of the Hudson's Bay Company's exclusive lease allowed the lawful colonization of the Saguenay region to begin.
The territory organized itself independently and Jean-Baptiste Duberg was mandated to survey land for the new Bagot Township (named after Sir Charles Bagot) and divide county seats for the new constituency.
Duberg was also responsible for mapping a road to Chicoutimi during the summer of 1842, which would eventually become Saint-Jean-Baptiste Boulevard and Grande-Baie Nord Boulevard.

The Bagot Township was structurally unique since its population was concentrated in two areas: Bagot Village (Grande-Baie) and Bagot Town (Bagotville).
John Kane, a land agent originally sent by the government to collect fees for use of Crown lands, became the township's first mayor in 1850.
The Province of Canada created the counties of Tadoussac and Chicoutimi in 1844.

The region's first school was built between the Ha!
Ha!
and Mars Rivers to serve the bay's two population hubs.
The clergy began to register the population of Grande-Baie in 1842 and Bagotville in 1845.
On October 15, 1844, the Oblates arrived in Grande-Baie to found a mission.
A fire destroyed most of the township in 1846.
The parishes of Saint-Alexis-de-Grande-Baie and Saint-Alphonse-de-Bagotville were canonically erected in 1857 and 1861 respectively.
In 1851, the population around Ha!
Ha!
Bay reached 2,438; they mostly depended on logging and agriculture for their livelihoods.

Grande-Baie built its first post office in 1855, and was proclaimed a municipality in 1860.
Bagotville became incorporated in 1876 and Grande-Baie followed suit in 1908.
Agriculture began to develop rapidly during the 1850s and focused mainly on cereal production.
The blueberry harvest was also an important activity until the arrival of railways in Chambord near St-Jean Lake in 1888.

An economic downturn occurred during this period and demand decreased for Saguenay timber.
In 1856, there were twenty-six small sawmills around the bay, in addition to the main ones on the Ha!
Ha!
and Mars Rivers.
The slowdown during the 1870s led many mills to shut down or convert from pine to spruce.
Even though the logging industry experienced difficulties, the dairy industry flourished; by 1894, the number of cheese factories had increased to six.

St-Urbain Road was opened in 1870 and connected Grande-Baie to Baie-Saint-Paul.
Telegraphs linked the two towns in 1880.
In 1859, the first jetty was built on Ha!
Ha!
Bay in Bagotville.
Three years later its first quay was built, which was later purchased by the Canadian government in 1876.
Bagotville's marine facilities, which were mainly used by Canada Steamship Lines, added a shipyard in 1853.
The Société des vingt et un arrived in what is now the Grande-Baie sector on June 11, 1838. After surveying the forest and assessing its potential, the colonists built the first lock on the Ha! Ha! River. In October of that same year, they completed the first sawmill and created the foundation of what would become Grande-Baie. The first families arrived during the fall, and jack pine and Eastern white pine logging operations began in 1839. The hydraulic power of the two main rivers, Ha! Ha! and Mars, and the bay's tributaries was used to run several sawmills. Mars Simard, a resident of Baie-Saint-Paul, opened his own sawmill on the Mars River and founded Bagotville, the bay's second settlement. Colonists from Baie-Saint-Paul moved to the new outpost, while those from La Malbaie preferred Grande-Baie, which had 110 inhabitants in 1839.
The Société des Vingt et un began to struggle after it lost two years worth of cutting when log-booms breached in 1840 and 1841. Their main purchaser, an English wood merchant named William Price, acquired all of the company's shares in 1842. He also bought the Mars Simard sawmill in 1843, making Price the owner of every sawmill in lower Saguenay.
The end of the Hudson's Bay Company's exclusive lease allowed the lawful colonization of the Saguenay region to begin. The territory organized itself independently and Jean-Baptiste Duberg was mandated to survey land for the new Bagot Township (named after Sir Charles Bagot) and divide county seats for the new constituency. Duberg was also responsible for mapping a road to Chicoutimi during the summer of 1842, which would eventually become Saint-Jean-Baptiste Boulevard and Grande-Baie Nord Boulevard.
The Bagot Township was structurally unique since its population was concentrated in two areas: Bagot Village (Grande-Baie) and Bagot Town (Bagotville). John Kane, a land agent originally sent by the government to collect fees for use of Crown lands, became the township's first mayor in 1850. The Province of Canada created the counties of Tadoussac and Chicoutimi in 1844.
The region's first school was built between the Ha! Ha! and Mars Rivers to serve the bay's two population hubs. The clergy began to register the population of Grande-Baie in 1842 and Bagotville in 1845. On October 15, 1844, the Oblates arrived in Grande-Baie to found a mission. A fire destroyed most of the township in 1846. The parishes of Saint-Alexis-de-Grande-Baie and Saint-Alphonse-de-Bagotville were canonically erected in 1857 and 1861 respectively. In 1851, the population around Ha! Ha! Bay reached 2,438; they mostly depended on logging and agriculture for their livelihoods.
Grande-Baie built its first post office in 1855, and was proclaimed a municipality in 1860. Bagotville became incorporated in 1876 and Grande-Baie followed suit in 1908. Agriculture began to develop rapidly during the 1850s and focused mainly on cereal production. The blueberry harvest was also an important activity until the arrival of railways in Chambord near St-Jean Lake in 1888.
An economic downturn occurred during this period and demand decreased for Saguenay timber. In 1856, there were twenty-six small sawmills around the bay, in addition to the main ones on the Ha! Ha! and Mars Rivers. The slowdown during the 1870s led many mills to shut down or convert from pine to spruce. Even though the logging industry experienced difficulties, the dairy industry flourished; by 1894, the number of cheese factories had increased to six.
St-Urbain Road was opened in 1870 and connected Grande-Baie to Baie-Saint-Paul. Telegraphs linked the two towns in 1880. In 1859, the first jetty was built on Ha! Ha! Bay in Bagotville. Three years later its first quay was built, which was later purchased by the Canadian government in 1876. Bagotville's marine facilities, which were mainly used by Canada Steamship Lines, added a shipyard in 1853.
La Baie