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The Township of McDougall was surveyed and named in 1866.  The name "McDougall" was chosen to honour William McDougall, one of the Fathers of Confederation. 
The Township itself was officially incorporated on May 1, 1872.

One of the more widely known areas in McDougall Township is the community of Nobel, which started as a railway station named Peart to serve the farming residents.  In 1912, this railway stop was renamed Ambo. 

Construction of the Canadians Explosives Limited Plant was started in 1913, and in 1914 the settlement around the plant and the plant itself were again renamed and became known as the Nobel works, after the Swedish scientist who invented dynamite. 

Plant operations through the years alternately flourished and declined, at times ceased altogether, and finally, at the end of 1985, C.I.L. Inc. shut down operations for the last time. 

Today, there are only storage facilities left to remind us of the once huge plant that employed over four thousand people.  Much residential housing, and future plans also include a much-needed marina.

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