Douglas, located along the Bonnechere River, began as a critical lumber stop at the fifth chute in the 19th century. Established in Bromley Township, it became a busy depot for timber headed downstream toward the Ottawa River. A post office, church, tavern, and mill supported a growing settlement that eventually warranted a formal town plan and subdivisions around the turn of the century.

The river chutes were central to land division here. Mill lots, dam easements, and boom company lands occupy multiple parcels in the area, and their outlines still govern title boundaries. Douglas also served as a crossroads settlement, where colonization roads and concession lines intersected, leading to a mix of rectilinear and occupation-driven parcel shapes.

Surveyors working in Douglas regularly handle boundary work tied to the river. The original Crown grid overlays a distinctly industrial geography that includes mill privileges and community commons. Early subdivision plans introduced small residential lots, some of which remain unrevised since the 1880s. Boundary retracement here often requires consulting registered plans, occupation sketches, and river-based reference points.