The Algonquin traditional territory included most of what is now North Grenville, but their territory bordered on that of another group, one that has become an historical mystery. A number of very old native settlements have been discovered in the area north of the St. Lawrence, and it is quite likely that others existed but have left no obvious remains. One of the largest sites excavated to date is just outside North Grenville, between Roebuck and Spencerville. It is called the Roebuck Site, and it seems clear from the long house-style buildings and the many pottery artifacts uncovered there that it was an Iroquoian settlement. This makes it quite likely that the people who lived there were part of what is known as the St. Lawrence Iroquoians. Comparisons with similar sites elsewhere indicate that these sites may have been inhabited from as early as 1200 A.D. The Roebuck Site is just one of a number of such settlements in the region around North Grenville, although none have been found within the Municipality’s borders as yet. They were large villages, estimated to have had a population of about 1,500 each.
However, there is disagreement among anthropologists and archaeologists about whether there was a single tribal group involved in these settlements, or if they were of related groups. What is clear is that all of these settlements seem to have been abandoned around the same time, and no-one can be sure why, or where the inhabitants went.
