Brief History of the Rouge River Native Petroglyph's ... © Harvey Kirsch The Rouge River Valley became home to many of Canada's First Nation Peoples. Here they lived in harmony with nature. They hunted the game in its forests, planted crops along it's banks, and fished for salmon in its bountiful waters, taking only what they needed to survive.   
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White man first arrived in the 1600's. They lived and traded
with the various tribes, but did not settle permanently. The
tribes living in these parts were the Huron, Cree, Neutral,
Petuns and Ojibwa. The Seneca; of the Iroquois Confederacy; lived on the south shore. Major Haudenosaunee ( Iroquois ) settlements were located at Ganatsekwyagon near the mouth of the Rouge, Teiaiagon on the Humber and Ganaraske on the Bay of Quinte.
 Joliet 1673 Map
Courtesy Pickering Library
Louis Joliet's map of 1673, showed Ganatsekwyagon and the Rouge River. The French Fur Traders named it Riviere Rouge, because of the colour of the sand banks. Lord Simco re-namee it Rough River because he did not like First Nation names. |