Rupert

The village of Rupert is the centre for the farming community that was established by Irish immigrants in the 1830’s. Today, many descendants of those original pioneer families still live in this community. 

In the past, Rupert had a cheese factory, a sawmill, a blacksmith shop, a general store, two churches (Methodist and Presbyterian), a community hall and a school. The Council House for the former municipality of Masham North (now ward 5 in the municipality of La Pêche) was also located in Rupert.  

Today, the cheese factory, saw mill, blacksmith shop, Presbyterian church and the Council House are all gone. The store that was located at the corner of Des Érables and Parent roads was closed in 1984 and was converted into a residential apartment building.  The one-room brick schoolhouse for grades one to six, located at the corner of Des Érables and Shouldice roads, closed in 1960 and was converted also into a residential apartment building. The Methodist church built in 1882 is now the home of the Rupert United Church.  The old community hall on Parent Road was closed and in 1991, a new community centre and hall was built where the fairgrounds and rink are also located. 

The construction of a new hall in 1991 by the Youth Welfare Association of Rupert was a major achievement that this tight-knit community is extremely proud of.  The community worked together to raise the funds for this project and a dedicated group of volunteers built the building. The community centre is operated by volunteers and it is the centre of activity in the community as it hosts numerous community events and functions including weddings, parties and celebrations, funerals, Christmas concerts, community auctions, various classes, meetings, breakfasts, dinners, including the Shrove Tuesday Pancake supper. The community centre also houses the Rupert library and Second Hand Store.  The skating rink, playground and fairground are also located at the community centre. 

Major community events include the:

• Gatineau Valley Horse Association fall fair that takes place the second weekend in September (since 1962)
• Rupert winter carnival, which includes the Ray Thompson Memorial hockey tournament that takes place the second weekend in February.