Local History

The Dupuis' & Roy's of Penetanguishene

The booklet is a short history of the Paul Dupuis & Albert Roy families of Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada. Both families would have heraldic roots with ancestors holding titles such as Lords, Seigneurs, Chevaliers and knights.

Tracing their Eastern European roots from England and the Puy region of France, their eventual migration to New France and Acadia in the mid-twentieth would culminate with both families settling in the Penetanguishene region, near Georgian Bay and their eventual intersecting through marriage. This booklet ends with the deaths of Albert Roy and Paul Dupuis.

Samuel de Champlain And Huronia

There is no doubt that one of the giants in Canadian history is the first governor of New France, Samuel de Champlain. Originally a cartographer in the French navy of King Henry IV, Champlain soon found himself at the forefront of explorations, expeditions and settlements in Acadia and Canada. His founding of Quebec ensured his place in history as the Father of French Canada.

From the beginning, Champlain recognized the importance of the First Nations peoples, first around Acadia and then his Kebec "Habitation." In fact, his life and those around him depended on their assistance on more than one occasion.

Soon he came to know other First Nations who traveled annually to KEBEC to trade, especially the Wendat, or Huron as he called them because of their hair. Champlain saw the importance of establishing good relations with them, and he would go out of his way on several occasions to help them and the other northern tribes in their battles with the Iroquois to the south.

In this first in a series of historical booklets, writer and resident historian David Dupuis brings Penetanguishene and its history to life in a concise and easy manner through words, drawings, and photos that will truly show the magnificent past of a historic town and area and the personalities and events that shaped them.

St. Anne's of Penetanguishene

There never really has been a parish quite like St. Anne's in Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada!

Inaugurated almost four hundred years ago with the bold of the North American Martyrs and giants in Canadian and ecclesiastical history, it was clear from the very beginning that her shores were special and sacred.

With the coming o white settlers and the transfer of a British Garrison, a second wave of missionaries arrived in 1825. St. Anne's was poised once again to be the centre of the Catholic faith in Huronia. She become that and more!

Her story is filled with famous names such as Etienne Brule, Samuel de Champlain, Peres Joseph LeCaron, Jean de Brebeuf, Antoine Daniel, and Athol Murray to name a few. But this is also the unforgettable story of her other priests and people whose home and parish became a sanctuary of hope, faith and love.

At the center of St. Anne's of Penetanguishene - Huronia's First Mission, David Dupuis chronicles the unbelievable odyssey of a parish constructing and finishing her "Canadian National Shrine", begun in 1886 by Pere Theophile Francis Laboureau and competed in 1999 by Monsignor Leonard O'Malley, with some "anonymous" help of course! Also know as the "Jesuit Memorial Church", "Cathedral of the North", or simply "St. Anne's", Pere Laboureau's dream and vision is now one of the most historic and beautiful churches in all of Canada.

This inspiring story is captured in words and beautiful, historic pictures o the first time.

Enter, and feel the majesty, beauty and peace that is St. Anne's.

Kitche-uwa'ne'

Many hundred of years ago on the shores o Georgian Bay, the Bear Tribe from the Huron village of Toanche on Penetanguishene Bay, found a baby the size of a man and raised him as their own. He grew to become a great giant named Kitche-uwa'ne'. His amazing story of kinship, love, rejection, betrayal yet ultimate forgiveness would culminate into the Giant's creation of the five bays of the Severn Sound, Georgian Bay's thirty-thousand islands and the Giant's Tomb - which can still be seen today! Thus, he would become the greatest of Hurons and a true Georgian Bay legend.

This magical, timeless Huron myth is brought exquisitely to life in words and illustrations for the first time. It is a wondrous story the whole family will be able to enjoy time and again, and one you will not soon forget...

The Place of the White Rolling Sands

In the long history of Canada, there has never been quite another place like Penetanguishene Ontario. Supposedly named by an Abenaki tribe, the town, situated on one of the most biggest picturesque Canadian fjords has experienced all aspects of Canada‘s development and historical identity.

Its peninsula was first occupied in the 1500s by the Huron-Wendat First Nation people, visited in the 1600s by French Governor and explorer, Samuel de Champlain, and then followed by Recollets and Jesuit missionaries. A British Naval and Military Establishment was constructed here to protect Lake Huron and Upper Canada which in turn brought an influx of British soldiers, French, English and Métis settlers to the area.

The late 1800s saw a pioneering boom in manufacturing, tourism and lumber production as the town quickly grew from a village to a bustling town that at one point was the epicenter of activity in North Simcoe.

In the second of a series of historical booklets, writer and resident historian David Dupuis brings his town to life in a concise manner through words, drawings and photos that will truly show the magnificent past of a historic town and the personalities that shaped it.

Welcome to The Martyrs' Shrine

"Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.

Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven...

But I say to you that hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away hour cloak do not withhold hour coat as well.

But love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great..."

- Luke 6:22-23, 27-29, 35

Available at the following locations:

McCarthy’s Shell, Vindin St. - Midland

Georgian Bay Books - Midland