Lachine, apparently from French la Chine (China), is often said to have been named in 1667, in mockery of its then owner Robert Cavelier de La Salle, who explored the interior of North America, trying to find a passage to Asia. When he returned without success, he and his men were derisively named les Chinois (Chinese). The name was adopted when the parish of Saints-Anges-de-la-Chine was created in 1678, with the form Lachine appearing with the opening of a post office in 1829.[6]
An alternative etymology attributes the name to the famous French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who also hoped to find a passage from the Saint Lawrence River to China. According to this version, in 1618 Champlain proposed that a customs house would tax the trade goods from China passing this point, hence the name Lachine.[7]
On August 4, 1689, more than 1500 Mohawk warriors raided the small village and burned it to the ground in retaliation for the ravaging of the Seneca lands, which was accused having been committed by the governor of New France, the Marquis de Denonville. The Lachine massacre left 80 dead.
Lachine was incorporated as a city in 1872. In 1999, it merged with the town of Saint-Pierre, which was itself merged into Montreal in 2002. Its logo during its municipality days is still in use as of today.