Bryson, Quebec

Bryson is a village and municipality in the Pontiac Regional County Municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River.

History

From 1858 to 1873, the village was called Havelock in honor of British general Henry Havelock (1795-1857). Because another Havelock Township had already been incorporated two years prior in the province of Quebec, Havelock was renamed in 1873 after local lumber baron and politician George Bryson when the Municipality of the Village of Bryson was incorporated.

Bryson was the seat of the county of Pontiac from 1855 to 1916 when the seat was moved to Campbell's Bay. Amongst the reasons to justify the move, the law states that the means of communication with the village were expensive and inconvenient, the roads were in poor condition and often impassable during winter storms and spring freshets, the village was several miles away from the nearest train station (located in Campbell's Bay), and that the village had reduced in importance and in population since a major fire had destroyed a number of residences and businesses as well as the county council's hall.

On December 20, 2004, it changed status from Village Municipality to (regular) Municipality.