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A Dam Changes Everything!

Two black and white photographs of the Des Prairies River. The top picture shows the rough rapids in 1929. The bottom one features a sailboat on the calm river after the dam was built in 1931.

Photographs showing the before and after of the rapids in the Laval-des-Rapides district, between 1929 and 1931, property of Jeanne Drolet

Today, most of the people who live in Laval-des-Rapides don’t think the name of their district was very well chosen. But before the dam was built, the rapids of the Des Prairies River were fearsome. Only the most reckless captains dared to ride them. The raftsmen even had to undo their rafts and let their logs shoot the Gros-Sault rapids. These before and after photos show what a dramatic impact the generating station and dam had. The river went from merciless to a perfect place for sailing.