| Shawville | |
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| — Village — | |
| Shawville main street. | |
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Shawville
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| Coordinates (350 rue Main): | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Outaouais |
| RCM | Pontiac |
| Constitution | January 1, 1874 |
| Government[1] | |
| • Mayor | Albert Armstrong |
| • Ridings: | |
| • Federal | Pontiac |
| • Provincial | Pontiac |
| Area[2] | |
| • Land | 5.40 km2 (2.1 sq mi) |
| Population (2006)[2] | |
| • Total | 1,587 |
| • Density | 293.8/km2 (760.9/sq mi) |
| • Change ~2001 | +0.3% |
| • Dwellings | 737 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | J0X 2Y0 |
| Access Routes | Route 148 Route 303 |
| Website | www.town.shawville.qc.ca |
Shawville is a Canadian town located in the Pontiac Regional County Municipality in the administrative region of Outaouais in western Quebec.
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At the end of the 1860s, a group of citizens from Clarendon Centre, under the leadership of James Shaw (1818-1877), separated the municipality from the township of Clarendon. While they had originally planned on naming the new entity "Daggville", the name of a pioneer family, they opted instead to name it "Shawville" after James Shaw promised to donate 0.8 ha of land to the new municipality.
The first mayor of Shawville was James Shaw from 1856 to 1877 who had settled in Clarendon township in 1843. The municipality was officially established in 1874, and was populated by Irish protestant immigrants.
A Methodist Church was built in Shawville in 1835, while the Catholic Parish of Saint-Alexandre-de-Clarendon opened its doors in 1840. This church would later be renamed as Sainte-Mélanie, and later as Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur in 1917.[3]
In recent times, Shawville has been the site of several conflicts between local shopkeepers and the Office québécois de la langue française over the province's language laws.
The town is completely enclosed within the municipality of Clarendon. Shawville is situated approximately 75 km west of Gatineau and 35 km southeast of Fort-Coulonge.
The town is characterized by its red-brick buildings, and unlike nearly every other municipality in Quebec, does not have a Catholic church. Shawville is home to an elementary school, a high school, a regional hospital, and the SRPC national head office. Its businesses are mostly small and family run.
The Shawville Fair, held the first weekend in September, is the town's major event. It has run every year since 1856 and includes typical county fair features such as livestock shows, auctions, truck pulls, demolition derbies, art/craft/hobby shows, diverse food stands and a midway. In recent years, it has drawn headline entertainers such as Terri Clark, Stompin' Tom Connors, Paul Brandt, April Wine, Dean Brody and Corb Lund, with total attendance reaching around 50,000.
Its population in 2006 was 1,587. Shawville is an overwhelmingly anglophone (with 85 per cent of its residents listing English as their first language in the Canada 2006 Census) and Protestant (75%) community.[2] This is unusual in Quebec, a province that is overwhelmingly French-speaking and Roman Catholic.
| Language | Population | Pct (%) |
|---|---|---|
| English only | 1,265 | 84.62% |
| French only | 180 | 12.04% |
| Both English and French | 35 | 2.34% |
| Other languages | 15 | 1.00% |
Shawville is represented in the Eastern Ontario Junior B Hockey League by the Shawville Pontiacs.
Famous people from Shawville include the current general manager of the Ottawa Senators, Bryan Murray, his brother Terry Murray (current coach of the L.A. Kings), NHL legend Frank "The Shawville Express" Finnigan and race horse owner and lawyer Clayton Horner. Former NHL referee Blaine Angus as well as Colonel David Thompson also come from the area.
| Clarendon (To: Thorne) |
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| Clarendon (To: Litchfield & Bryson) |
Clarendon (To: Bristol) |
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| Shawville | ||||
| Clarendon Ottawa River |
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