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The Town of Mattawa is located at the junction of the Ottawa and Mattawa Rivers. The convergence of the two rivers meant that this site has held an important position for the people who travelled this historic waterway to explore the rest of Canada.

Many explorers like Étienne Brûlé (1610), Samuel de Champlain (1615), and Pierre Radisson (1659), passed through Mattawa, plus Jesuits like Father Jean de Brebeuf (1626) and Father Lalement (1626) also rested here before pushing onwards to Lake Nipissing and the interior of Canada.

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There are many beautiful vistas in Mattawa, but there is one really good place to view the town and that is at the Three crosses. The Three Crosses are standing on the crest of the Laurentian Mountains across from the Town of Mattawa on the Québec side.

 

The Three Crosses were erected on this site in 1686. A group of Explorers and missionary priests during their trip up the Ottawa River stopped at Explorer's Point to repair their canoes. In commemoration and by order of Sieur de Troyes, they decided to mark the place where the two rivers meet and erected the three crosses.

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Designed by the Mattawa Museum & hosted by Mikeypc.ca

Views of Mattawa from the Three Crosses through the years.

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