| Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts | |
|---|---|
| Sainte Agathe centre-ville | |
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Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Laurentides |
| Regional County | Les Laurentides |
| Settled | 1849 |
| Incorporated | February 27, 2002 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Ville |
| • Mayor | Denis Chalifoux |
| • Federal riding | Laurentides—Labelle |
| • Prov. riding | Bertrand |
| Area[1] | |
| • Land | 128.38 km2 (49.6 sq mi) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| • Total | 9,679 |
| • Density | 75.4/km2 (195.3/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Postal Code | J8C |
| Area code(s) | 819 |
| Website | www.ville.sainte-agathe-des-monts.qc.ca |
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is a town in the province of Quebec in the regional county municipality of Les Laurentides, in the administrative region of Laurentides, also known as the "Laurentians" or the Laurentian Mountains (in English). Ste-Agathe-des-Monts borders on a lake called Lac des Sable, and is located approximately 100 kilometres north of Montreal.
The town has been twinned with Lagny-sur-Marne, France since 1969 and Saranac Lake, New York since 2002.
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In 1849, the first families arrived on the northern fringe of the area, a settlement established by Augustin Norbert Morin.
Beginning in 1850, a rapid colonization of the region began. The arriving families were primarily of French Catholic background [2]. The village itself is centred around a Catholic church built in 1904. In 1865, the land on which the church stands was donated to the parish by Dr. Euseble Larocque, brother of the Monsignor. Dr. Larocque had amassed a fortune in the California Gold Rush and had decided to live the life of a seigneur. He bought several farms around Lac à la Truite (Trout Lake) and area but was too kind-hearted to ask for the rents. There is also a smaller Anglican church, "Holy Trinity Anglican Parish", in the town. In 1926 the Lord Bishop of the Anglican Church of Montreal presided over the dedication of the current building. The English Protestant community grew from the time the train first arrived in 1892.
With the completion of a railroad to Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts in 1892, the town experienced a rapid increase in population. Between 1892 and 1911, a number of spas and hospitals were established. In 1899, a tuberculosis hospital was founded by Dr. Arthur Richer. Elizabeth Wand, a nurse from New York city established a spa, which today still operates as Auberge Tour du Lac. It was believed at the time that fresh mountain air could help cure tuberculosis and other pulmonary diseases. By 1910, many wealthy families from Montreal and northern United States had built residences along the shoreline of Lac des Sable. Octavien Rolland, third son of J.B. Rolland, founder of Rolland Paper was among the first to arrive. Between 1892 and 1910, the assessed value of the buildings in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts had increased 20 times.[3] From the 1950s to the 1980s, the town was a popular tourist centre with a number of large resort hotels plus many shops and restaurants.
In the 1980s, Ste-Agathe-des-Monts grew as a four-season tourist destination with a broad range of activities for cottagers and residents alike. As a growing service-centre for the surrounding region, its economic base became more diverse with a strong foundation of tourism activities that included, in the summer, horse-back riding, boating, fishing, and lakeside recreation, as well as the winter activities of cross-country skiing, dog-sled racing, skating, and ice hockey. While the train is no longer in service, there is an extensive bike path that has replaced it called "Le Petit Train Du Nord". It directly connects to other paths that extend as far as Montreal.
Today, the town is characterized by its history and tradition of B&Bs, Inns, Hotels, and Spas. As a growing municipality, it has a developing service area that includes a new Wal-Mart, Super 8, and Jean Coutu (among others) strategically placed on on the edge of the town so as to not affect its village atmosphere.
Next to Mont Tremblant, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts has the largest population of English-speaking summer cottage residents in the Laurentians (with a smaller but still sizable winter cottage population as well, particularly on the weekends). Generations of cottagers from English Montreal, Ontario, New York, and New Jersey vacation amidst the lakes and mountains surrounding the town. In addition to an open and tolerant French population, many of whom are bilingual and have connections to cosmopolitan Montreal, there is a large historic summer Jewish community which fosters a diversity and acceptance that further attracts a variety of urban Anglophone and Allophone cottagers to the town.
Population:[4]
Total private dwellings, excluding seasonal cottages: 4271 (total: 5642)
Mother tongue (permanent residents, excluding seasonal cottagers):
| Climate data for Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 9.4 (48.9) |
12 (54) |
18.9 (66.0) |
28.5 (83.3) |
30.6 (87.1) |
31.7 (89.1) |
33.6 (92.5) |
35.6 (96.1) |
28.9 (84.0) |
25.6 (78.1) |
17.2 (63.0) |
12.9 (55.2) |
35.6 (96.1) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −7.8 (18.0) |
−5.4 (22.3) |
0.5 (32.9) |
8.3 (46.9) |
17 (63) |
21.1 (70.0) |
23.7 (74.7) |
22.1 (71.8) |
16.6 (61.9) |
9.9 (49.8) |
2.3 (36.1) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
8.6 (47.5) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −18.7 (−1.7) |
−16.8 (1.8) |
−11 (12) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
4.3 (39.7) |
9 (48) |
11.9 (53.4) |
10.7 (51.3) |
5.8 (42.4) |
0.5 (32.9) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
−15.2 (4.6) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −37.3 (−35.1) |
−36.7 (−34.1) |
−32.8 (−27.0) |
−19.4 (−2.9) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
1.7 (35.1) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
−6.2 (20.8) |
−10.6 (12.9) |
−23.3 (−9.9) |
−35.2 (−31.4) |
−37.3 (−35.1) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 91.9 (3.618) |
80.8 (3.181) |
89.2 (3.512) |
81.3 (3.201) |
89.1 (3.508) |
108.7 (4.28) |
96.8 (3.811) |
111.9 (4.406) |
101.7 (4.004) |
101.9 (4.012) |
108.4 (4.268) |
113 (4.45) |
1,174.6 (46.244) |
| Sunshine hours | 96.9 | 124 | 157.3 | 183.3 | 223.1 | 236.3 | 265 | 229.6 | 159.2 | 124.8 | 73.2 | 67 | 1,940.4 |
| Source: Environment Canada[5] | |||||||||||||
| Lac-Supérieur | Val-des-Lacs, Lantier, Sainte-Lucie-des-Laurentides | |||
| Saint-Faustin–Lac-Carré, Ivry-sur-le-Lac | Val-David | |||
| Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts | ||||
| Montcalm | Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard |
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