It is located on the Ottawa River, northwest of Gatineau.

[4] It is home to the main tourist attractions of the Pontiac region: the Chutes Coulonge, the George Bryson House, and the Félix-Gabriel-Marchand Bridge.

It may have been named after an English town in Nottinghamshire or in honour of Sir James Mansfield (1733-1821), Solicitor General of Canada in 1780, or William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (1705–1793).

In 1863, Pontefract Township was officially established, named after an English town in Yorkshire.

In 1888, a portion of its territory separated and was incorporated as the Village Municipality of Fort-Coulonge.