September 25, 1897, the Lachine Rapids Hydraulic and Land Co. inaugurated its Lachine power plant in the presence of 2,000 guests, including Montréal Mayor Wilson Smith and Verdun Mayor John Crawford. The company was created from the desire of engineers Thomas Pringle and McLea Walbank to turn the rapids' hydro-electric power to good account.
The 21 partners in the company each invested $2500. William Davies and Sons was the company that then built the dam in the Lachine Rapids. In 1903, the Montreal Light, Heat and Power company purchased the Lachine Rapids Hydraulic and Land company and its subsidiaries. The dam located in LaSalle, near 8e Avenue, wound up its activities in 1931. The power plant had 11 MW of power, which made it the largest in North America at the time, after the one built on the U.S. banks of Niagara Falls.
