"This is the first part of Upper Canada that he will encounter. The boats (steamships) take on fuel at Lancaster and Cornwall, two nice villages in the glen. If a stranger enters these towns, all he needs to do to find any of Clan Donald is to recite his lineage down, or up, as I ought to put it, to his father, his grandfather, and the men who came before him; who can say there are no Gaels in America?"
--Robert MacDougall, 'The Emigrants guide to North America', 1841.

With Quebec to the east and the St. Lawrence River and Lake St. Frances to the south Glengarry County occupies 478 square miles divided into four townships, Lancaster, Lochiel, Charlottenburgh and Kenyon. Early on European settlement occurred along the shores of the lakes and rivers as this provided easy access to the rest of the country, however the land locked interior had remained neglected.

In 1784 following America's war of Independence the first wave of Gaelic immigration to the area took place. These people were Highlanders and veteran settlers who had remained loyal to the crown, their convictions cost them their homes in New York State's Mohawk Valley. After arriving in Canada they established themselves in Glengarry's Charlottenburgh Township.

Immigration to the area from Scotland
Loch Quoich in Glengarry Scotland became the first of the MacDonell lands to suffer from a clearing of the people. In the summer of 1785 then chief Duncan and his wife the "light headed Marjorie" had agreed to turn its land into a sheep run. Within a few months the 520 inhabitants of Loch Quoich found themselves in the hold of the ship 'MacDonald' and bound for Glengarry County, Canada. Traveling with them were their parish priest, the Reverend Alexander MacDonell and their former tacks men (middleman landlords) who without people had lost their livelihoods. Aided by the first arrivals these immigrants largely settled themselves in Lochiel and Lancaster townships on the east side of the county. At St. Raphaels the Reverend Alexander MacDonell saw to the building of the first non French Roman Catholic church in Canada. It became serviceable in 1789 and was called the "Blue Chapel", a name perhaps associated with the wood it was constructed from A further 300 evicted MacDonells arrived in 1786 with still more following the clearings of 1787 and 1788. Worth noting, in 1787 the Reverend John Bethune (g-g-grandfather to Dr. Norman Bethune) arrived from Scotland and founded a Presbyterian church within the county.

In 1788 Duncan MacDonell of Glengarry died and was succeeded by his son, Alasdair Randalson MacDonell (best remembered for introducing the Glengarry bonnet), another misfortune for Clan Donell as the apple never falls far from the tree. The 'century of clearing' continued and before it was over 20,000 MacDonells would be making their homes in the new world.

St Raphaels officially became a parish in 1802 and in the year following the Reverend Alexander MacDonell passed away. He was succeeded in 1804 by the former Chaplain of the Glengarry Fencibles, (whose name was also) the Reverend Alexander MacDonell and who arrived to settle with a small party of his recently disbanded militia regiment. It is said that the last time in history the 'fiery cross' was sent around was in this place during the war of 1812. An American raid into Canada occurred in the winter of 1812-13 and it was by this ancient Highland method that the men of Glengarry were rallied to help throw their adversary back across the border.

An elegant stone church replaced Father MacDonell's original wooden 'Blue Chapel' in 1819 and its priest was elevated to the post Bishop. In 1970 the interior of the stone church was destroyed by fire, today the walls stand preserved as a reminder of this important site.

The community's economy, like most of rural Canada, was based on farming and lumber. As soil in the area was not, generally speaking, terribly productive the men sought outside employment during the winter months and it became custom to trade the plow for an axe. In the spring the Raisin, Baudette and Delisle rivers served to float the cut logs to market. In nearby Dundas County in 1811 John McIntosh discovered several seedlings while clearing his land; their fruit later became famous as the McIntosh apple.

In the earlier half of the 19th century Glengarry's population was almost exclusively composed of Gaelic speaking Highlanders, change came slowly but inevitably. In neighboring Quebec the growing French population, faced with a land shortage migrated into the county while some of the Scottish inhabitants left to seek opportunity elsewhere. Today the population of 30,000 is about half French and half English speaking. The Scots that remain have preserved their culture and identity, Gaelic continues to be spoken and taught and the annual Maxville Highland games are amongst the largest in North America.