Early history In 1714, the area was part of the Parish of
St-Joachim de Pointe-Claire. It became part of the Parish of
Ste-Geneviève when it detached from Pointe-Claire in 1845. On July 29, 1924, Dollard-des-Ormeaux detached from the Parish of Ste-Geneviève and became a separate municipality in response to a tax imposed by the Parish road improvements on Gouin Boulevard. Its first mayor was Hormidas Meloche. The town's name honours the savior
Adam Dollard des Ormeaux, who was killed by the
Iroquois at the
Battle of Long Sault in 1660.
Later history The City of Dollard-des-Ormeaux obtained a new charter and was incorporated as a city on February 4, 1960. One of its original main axes, Anselme-Lavigne Street in the Westpark neighbourhood, is named for a farmer who sold his land to the Belcourt Construction Company. Many of the streets in the Sunnydale neighbourhood, including "Sunshine" and "Hyman", are named for members in the prominent Zunenshine family who owned Belcourt. The community is a mixture of residential and commercial properties.
Des Sources and
St-Jean Boulevards are its main commercial arteries, and are represented by the two vertical lines in the city's official logo. The three circles in the logo, from left to right, respectively represent the St-Jean Sector, the Westpark Sector and the Sunnybrooke Sector. The three circles and two vertical lines in the logo represent the city's geography and artfully spell out "ddo". The Town Hall was located in a house on Des Sources Boulevard in the early 1960s, and was moved to an 1806 French-Canadian farmhouse in 1964. When Canada's centennial anniversary was due to occur, the town decided to create a "Centennial Park," featuring a man-made lake and hills. It was suggested to use this project for a reservoir for
stormwater drainage, as the city was faced with the need to expand surface drainage pipes. The project was announced September 8, 1966. However the project ran into problems and became a local scandal and a major drain on resources. It was finally completed in the 1970s, albeit overdue and overbudget. Dollard-des-Ormeaux was included in the
Montreal Urban Community when that government was created in 1970.
Recent years On January 1, 2002, as part of the
2002–2006 municipal reorganization of Montreal, it merged with the city of
Montreal and became part of the
Dollard-Des Ormeaux–Roxboro borough. After a
change of government and a
2004 demerger referendum, Dollard-des-Ormeaux was reconstituted as an independent city on January 1, 2006. It is now the Montreal Island's most populous city outside Montreal. Albeit not served by the
Montreal Metro, the city will be served by the
Réseau express métropolitain light rail system with a station at the juncture of Highway 40 and Des Sources Boulevard. == Demographics ==