The Saguenay's nomadic Innu tribes once inhabited La Baie.
The Chicoutimians lived on the banks of the Saguenay River well before European colonization.
Unlike important meeting places like Chicoutimi, Ha!
Ha!
Bay was far from portages to Saint-Jean Lake (French: lac St-Jean) and was not frequented by First Nations or the region's first explorers.

Although it was not on eighteenth century fur trade routes, Ha!
Ha!
Bay was used by the Hudson's Bay Company's commercial fishing boats at the mouths of the Ha!
Ha! (
Wissuscoué) and Mars (Vasigamenke) Rivers.

In 1828, the Crown mandated land surveyor J.-B. Proulx to explore the bay area; he later reported on its hilly landscapes and logging potential.
Colonization was impossible during this period since the Hudson's Bay Company held exclusive rights to natural resources in the region since 1821, a monopoly which would only expire in 1842.
It was popular pressure from Charlevoix and especially La Malbaie that led to the tenuous beginnings of colonization in the Saguenay region.
After an 1829 report demonstrating the fertility levels of the region's soil, a petition asking for permission to settle the Saguenay region began to circulate in La Malbaie.
The government refused it and ordered further explorations of the region between 1829 and 1836, hoping to find a land link between Ha!
Ha!
Bay and Baie-Saint-Paul.
A second petition was launched in 1835, which led to the government and the Hudson's Bay Company to finally cede cutting rights to a company from La Malbaie called the Société des Vingt et un.

The company's schooner sailed from La Malbaie on April 25, 1838, and made several stopovers along the banks of the Saguenay.
After setting up temporary camps near Tadoussac, they built their first sawmill at L'Anse St-Jean.
Their goal was to reach Ha!
Ha!
Bay to build a permanent facility.
The Saguenay's nomadic Innu tribes once inhabited La Baie. The Chicoutimians lived on the banks of the Saguenay River well before European colonization. Unlike important meeting places like Chicoutimi, Ha! Ha! Bay was far from portages to Saint-Jean Lake (French: lac St-Jean) and was not frequented by First Nations or the region's first explorers.
Although it was not on eighteenth century fur trade routes, Ha! Ha! Bay was used by the Hudson's Bay Company's commercial fishing boats at the mouths of the Ha! Ha! (Wissuscoué) and Mars (Vasigamenke) Rivers.
In 1828, the Crown mandated land surveyor J.-B. Proulx to explore the bay area; he later reported on its hilly landscapes and logging potential. Colonization was impossible during this period since the Hudson's Bay Company held exclusive rights to natural resources in the region since 1821, a monopoly which would only expire in 1842. It was popular pressure from Charlevoix and especially La Malbaie that led to the tenuous beginnings of colonization in the Saguenay region. After an 1829 report demonstrating the fertility levels of the region's soil, a petition asking for permission to settle the Saguenay region began to circulate in La Malbaie. The government refused it and ordered further explorations of the region between 1829 and 1836, hoping to find a land link between Ha! Ha! Bay and Baie-Saint-Paul. A second petition was launched in 1835, which led to the government and the Hudson's Bay Company to finally cede cutting rights to a company from La Malbaie called the Société des Vingt et un.
The company's schooner sailed from La Malbaie on April 25, 1838, and made several stopovers along the banks of the Saguenay. After setting up temporary camps near Tadoussac, they built their first sawmill at L'Anse St-Jean. Their goal was to reach Ha! Ha! Bay to build a permanent facility.
La Baie