Wentworth-Nord is a municipality in the Laurentides

Laurentides (region)

The Laurentides is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains...

 region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Les Pays-d'en-Haut Regional County Municipality

Les Pays-d'en-Haut Regional County Municipality, Quebec

Les Pays-d'En-Haut is a county regional municipality of Quebec in Canada. The population of the MRC according to the 2006 Census is 36,573-Towns:* Estérel* Sainte-Adèle* Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson* Saint-Sauveur-Municipalities:* Lac-des-Seize-Îles...

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Its communities include Saint-Michel, Laurel, and Montfort. Its many lakes attract many cottage vacationers each summer.

History

The original Wentworth Township, formed in 1809, included both Wentworth

Wentworth, Quebec

Wentworth is a township in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Argenteuil Regional County Municipality, north-west of Lachute.Its population centres are Louisa and Dunany.-Geography:...

 and Wentworth-Nord, so their histories are closely related until 1958 when Wentworth-Nord became a separate municipality.

The community of Laurel formed when the first families arrived from Ireland between 1855 and 1860, calling it New Ireland in memory of their homeland. The Laurel Post Office opened in 1886. In 1856, the mission of Wentworth was established, officially renamed to Saint-Michel in 1884. By 1860, McCluskey or McClosky Court opened, probably named after pioneer James McClosky.

From 1899, several mines were commercially exploited, extracting mica

Mica

The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...

 (from 1899 onward), chalk

Chalk

Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....

 (from 1919 to 1923), marl

Marl

Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...

, and graphite

Graphite

The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...

. Other economic activity included logging, agriculture, and the manufacture of potash

Potash

Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...

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Lakes

Lac Saint-François-Xavier (74.35889°N 45.88139°W) is believed to have been named after François-Xavier Froideveaux. Work undertaken in 2011 restored the lake's natural shore near the Montfort recreational building.

Demographics

Population:

• Population in 2006: 1353
  • 2001 to 2006 population change: 20.7 %
• Population in 2001: 1121
• Population in 1996: 1039
• Population in 1991: 789

Total private dwellings, excluding seasonal cottages: 669 (total: 1927)

Mother tongue:

• English as first language: 23 %
• French as first language: 69 %
• English and French as first language: 1 %
• Other as first language: 7 %