Braeside—formerly the Village of Braeside—is situated on the south shore of Lac des Chats (Ottawa River), within the Township of McNab/Braeside in eastern Renfrew County. Settlement began after the 1825 Crown grant to Archibald McNab, Laird of McNab, who brought over Highland clansmen to inhabit the area. Early lots stretched along the river, favoring fertile clay plains formed by the ancient Champlain Sea shoreline.

The village was officially named “Braeside” in 1872, likely in homage to Braeside, Scotland, reflecting the settlers’ roots. Throughout the 19th century, the local economy revolved around timber and milling—lumber operations such as Herron’s Mills relocated there by the 1870s, shaping both community growth and lot divisions.

Macnab/Braeside township was formally incorporated in 1998, merging McNab Township and Braeside village and preserving Braeside’s riverfront lot layout, road network, and mill-site parcels within a broader municipal structure.

From a land surveyor’s perspective, Braeside is a classic case of Ontario’s colonial-era development layered with industrial settlement:

• The original Crown surveys (1825) laid a foundation of river-aligned concessions and road allowances that remain evident in field maps and deeds.

• Riverfront parcels and concession frontage lots reflect early lot grants under McNab’s authority.

• The arrival of mills, and expansions like Herron’s Mills, introduced industrial easements and mill-site licences that still appear in current legal descriptions.

• Modern infrastructure—such as Highway 17/County Rd 4—runs along old concession lines, intersecting historical parcel geometry and requiring surveyors to reconcile multiple cadastral epochs during land division or any property boundary work.