Saint-Victor, Quebec

Saint-Victor
Municipality
Motto: United to Build (French: S'unir pour bâtir)

Location within Robert-Cliche RCM.
Saint-Victor

Location in southern Quebec.

Coordinates: 46°09′N 70°54′W / 46.150°N 70.900°WCoordinates: 46°09′N 70°54′W / 46.150°N 70.900°W[1]
Country  Canada
Province  Quebec
Region Chaudière-Appalaches
RCM Robert-Cliche
Founded February 24, 1852
Constituted December 31, 1996
Government[2]
  Mayor Jonathan V. Bolduc
  Federal riding Beauce
  Prov. riding Beauce-Nord
Area[2][3]
  Total 121.80 km2 (47.03 sq mi)
  Land 121.10 km2 (46.76 sq mi)
Population (2011)[3]
  Total 2,451
  Density 20.2/km2 (52/sq mi)
  Pop 2006-2011 Decrease 4.0%
  Dwellings 1,168
Time zone EST (UTC−5)
  Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s) G0M 2B0
Area code(s) 418 and 581
Highways Route 108
Route 271
Website www.st-victor.qc.ca

Saint-Victor is a municipality in the Robert-Cliche Regional County Municipality, part of the Chaudière-Appalaches administrative region in Quebec, Canada. Saint-Victor's population is 2,509.

History

The area was first settled as Tring township municipality, established in 1804. Colonization peaked between 1834 and 1838. Settlers came from the neighboring areas of Saint-François (Beauceville), Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Lauzon, and Bellechasse.

The Tring township municipality was created in 1845, dissolved in 1847, and reestablished in 1855. In 1864 it split into the Saint-Victor-de-Tring and Saint-Éphrem-de-Tring municipalities. Saint-Victor-de-Tring was named after a Catholic parish, which was established in 1848 and became canonical in 1852. The parish included parts of Saint-François-de-Beauce parish and of Tring and Broughton townships. It was named after Pope Saint Victor I because the first chapel's construction started on July 28, Saint Victor's feast day.[1]

On March 1, 1922, Saint-Victor-de-Tring split into two municipalities, the village and the parish. Originally called Saint-Victor-de-Tring, the village municipality was renamed Saint-Victor in 1955. On December 31, 1996, the municipalities of the village and the parish merged again to form the current municipality of Saint-Victor.

Fires destroyed much of the village in 1897, 1916, 1931, 1941, 1948 and 1958.[4]

The Honorable Lise Thibault, Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, visiting Saint-Victor in 2002
Désir de Vivre, a historical play presented for Saint-Victor's 150th anniversary in 2002
Saint-Victor's church holding Mass in 2009

Geography

The village of Saint-Victor sits on a hill above the Le Bras Saint-Victor river valley. The nearby Lac Fortin, the largest lake in Beauce,[5] is 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) long and surrounded by houses and chalets. Another lake, Lac aux Cygnes, is shared between the municipalities of Saint-Victor and Saint-Benoît-Labre. The smaller Lac Castor lies between the two other lakes. The municipality of Saint-Victor is 55 percent forested.[6]

Culture and tourism

Festivités Western in 2010
Saloon and rodeo, Festivités Western 2010

Economy

Saint-Victor had an economic boom in the 1990s, when the relative weakness of the Canadian dollar helped local businesses increase exports to the United States. In the mid-2000s, exports declined when the Canadian dollar strengthened and Asian textile quotas ended.[8] But residential construction continues, and the population has been rising every year.

Major businesses

Education

Séminaire du Sacré-Coeur, today the Aube Nouvelle nursing home

In 1903 the Congregation of the Sister-Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary opened a convent school, which burned down on June 6, 1931. A new convent school built in 1932 burned down in Saint-Victor's fire of 1948. A third convent school built in 1949 closed in 1967 as schools were consolidated. Another convent school in the station neighborhood closed in 1965 and was sold to Victor Woolen Ltd. Boys were not allowed in convent schools after 6th grade but were taught in private homes. The Champlain school for boys was built in 1957 and closed in 1972 when schools were further consolidated. A unified institution, the École Centrale (Central School), replaced all these schools, opening in January 1965 and adding seven new classes in 1967. In 1987 it was renamed "École Le Tremplin."

Along with other local school boards, the Commission Scolaire de Saint-Victor merged into the Commission Scolaire de Beauceville in July 1972.[9]

A seminary, the Séminaire du Sacré-Coeur, taught men from 1918 until 1975. In 1977 it became a nursing home operated by Fondation Aube-Nouvelle.

Transportation

Personalities

Born in Saint-Victor

Lived or lives in Saint-Victor

Demographics

Year Population
1842 1246
1901 2471
1911 2561
1921 2178
1931 2324
1941 2375
1951 2402
1961 2350
1971 2144
1981 2343
1986 2337
2001 2438
2006 2491
2010 2574
2014 2509

[15]

Photos

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Fiche descriptive. Toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (1997-03-25). Retrieved on 2011-04-30.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Geographic code 27008 in the official Répertoire des municipalités (French)
  3. 3.0 3.1 "(Code 2427008) Census Profile". 2011 census. Statistics Canada. 2012.
  4. Trajectoire 150, Saint-Victor 1852–2002: 150 ans de fierté, 2002, Saint-Victor, QC, Canada, p. 63-66
  5. Nouvelles » Actualités » Les résidents du lac Fortin se mobilisent. Edition Beauce. Retrieved on 2011-04-30.
  6. Conseil des maires de la MRC Robert-Cliche, 2006-02-08
  7. Page d'accueil. St-victor.qc.ca. Retrieved on 2011-04-30.
  8. The End Of Textile Quotas Will Redistribute Pain And Gain. Yaleglobal.yale.edu. Retrieved on 2011-04-30.
  9. Trajectoire 150, Saint-Victor 1852–2002: 150 ans de fierté, 2002, Saint-Victor, QC, Canada, p. 158-161.
  10. Madeleine Ferron, l’insoumise, enfin sur papier, Commentaire de André Garant, historien, 8 December 2009
  11. Recherche – L'Île. Litterature.org. Retrieved on 2011-04-30.
  12. Trajectoire 150, Saint-Victor 1852–2002: 150 ans de fierté, 2002, Saint-Victor, QC, Canada, p. 228-230
  13. Léon Provancher, l'héritage d'un scientifique du XIXe siècle – Articles | Encyclopédie du patrimoine culturel de l'Amérique française – histoire, culture, religion, héritage. Ameriquefrancaise.org (2009-12-15). Retrieved on 2011-04-30.
  14. LA CULTURE À BEAUCEVILLE – Comité Culturel et Patrimonial de Beauceville. Sites.google.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-30.
  15. Trajectoire 150, Saint-Victor 1852–2002: 150 ans de fierté, 2002, Saint-Victor, QC, Canada, p. 178

    External links