Brudenell Township, part of what is now Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan in Renfrew County, was first surveyed and opened in the early 1850s during a period of accelerated settlement following the construction of the Opeongo Road. The rugged terrain and mixed forest made for challenging farming, but the Crown's offer of free land grants drew settlers, many of them Irish and French-Canadian. The township was named after James Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan, known for leading the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War.

The townsite of Brudenell itself became a minor hub in the late 19th century, gaining notoriety for its rowdy dance halls and as a waystation for loggers and railway workers. Though no rail line ultimately passed through, early subdivision plans for the village reflect ambitions that never quite materialized. Some of these early registered plans are still referred to in legal descriptions today.

From a surveyor's perspective, Brudenell is defined by the grid logic of its original Crown surveys, intersected by colonization road allowances like the Opeongo. Irregular terrain often resulted in jogs in lot lines or offset road allowances—still evident in modern parcel mapping. Tracing boundaries here can involve reconciling early lot fabric with later overlay plans, often tied to proposed but unbuilt infrastructure.