Logging in the Laurentian highlands became an important economic activity during the second half of the 18th century. The Jacques-Cartier River was used for log drives to transport the logs to the Saint-Lawrence River and to the mills downstream. This practice was only stopped in 1975. With the settlement of French immigrants near the river's mouth came the formation of townships (modelled after English townships after their conquest of 1759) and new industries appeared such as flour mills.