Samuel de Champlain passed through the area that came to be the site of the town of Chambly, QC, in 1609., when he wrote the following in his journal: The approach to the rapids is a sort of lake into which the water flows down, and it is about three leagues in circumference.

Subsequently, prisoners-of-war from the Continental Army, including Colonel William Stacy, were held at Fort Chambly until the end of the American Revolutionary War.

Livingston recruited men from Chambly, Quebec as early as September 1775,[5] but a formal regimental designation was made by Richard Montgomery on November 20, 1775, with recognition by the Second Continental Congress following on January 8, 1776.

The regiment, which never approached its authorized size of 1,000 men, saw action primarily in the Canadian theater and New York, and was disbanded on January 1, 1781.

Among the buildings around the Fort was St. Stephen's Anglican Church, which was built to serve the soldiers in garrison as well as the local Loyalist and English settler population.

Part of a series of waterways connecting the Saint Lawrence River and New York City, Chambly Canal was built to facilitate commercial traffic between Canada and the United States.

Anglophone secondary students in Chambly are zoned for Heritage Regional High School in Longueuil's Saint-Hubert borough.

A small daily news sheet called Chambly Matin also maintains a journalistic presence on the internet reporting on local issues.