Jump to content

Saint-Jacques, Quebec

Coordinates: 45°57′N 73°34′W / 45.950°N 73.567°W / 45.950; -73.567
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other Saint-Jacques in Quebec, see Saint-Jacques § Quebec.
Saint-Jacques
Municipality
Church of Saint-Jacques
Church of Saint-Jacques
Coat of arms of Saint-Jacques
Coat of arms
Nickname: 
"The Acadian cradle of Lanaudière"
Location within Montcalm RCM
Location within Montcalm RCM
Saint-Jacques is located in Central Quebec
Saint-Jacques
Saint-Jacques
Location in central Quebec
Coordinates: 45°57′N 73°34′W / 45.950°N 73.567°W / 45.950; -73.567[1]
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionLanaudière
RCMMontcalm
SettledMid 18th-century
ConstitutedMay 20, 1998
Named afterJacques Degeay
Government
[2]
 • MayorJosyanne Forest
 • Federal ridingMontcalm
 • Prov. ridingRousseau
Area
[2][3]
 • Total
67.20 km2 (25.95 sq mi)
 • Land67.17 km2 (25.93 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[3]
 • Total
4,302
 • Density64/km2 (170/sq mi)
 • Pop (2016–21)
Increase 8.3%
 • Dwellings
1,939
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)
J0K 2R0
Area code(s)450 and 579
Highways[4] R-158 R-341
Websitewww.st-jacques.org Edit this at Wikidata

Saint-Jacques (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ ʒak] ⓘ) is a 26 mi² (67.34 km²) rural municipality in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Montcalm Regional County Municipality with a population of 4,300 year-round residents.[5][6] The municipality is notable for its natural beauty and horticulture. Officially founded in 1774 by thirty Acadian families who managed to escape by boat to Quebec after forced expulsion, Saint-Jacques is part of the region known as the "Acadian cradle of Lanaudière."[7]

"The Great Upheaval" (Fr. "le Grand Dérangement") began in the fall of 1755 and lasted until 1778.[8][9] "The first removals ... [of] approximately 7,000 people were from settlements around the Bay of Fundy" in present-day Nova Scotia.[6] The majority were expelled by ship to the "continental colonies or France," but 225 fled south to Quebec.[8] They would go on to found a handful of new Acadian villages, or “Little Cadies,” including Saint-Jacques, which is why the Saint-Jacques coat of arms uses the same colors as the Acadian flag.[6][7][10]

The name Saint-Jacques was given in honour of Jacques Degeay (1717-1774), priest of L'Assomption from 1742 to 1774, who supported the Acadians in 1766.[1]

History

[edit]

Originally called Saint-Jacques-de-la-Nouvelle-Acadie to commemorate the Acadians' second pioneering effort and Father Jacques Degeay who helped them, the municipality provided the settlers key resources for living off the land.[9][11][12] The site provided ready access to "hardwood ... with which [to] build homes, barns, poultry houses, hog barns, sheep pens.... ploughs, tables, chairs, or tool handles ... and "soft wood" — the white pine especially — [for] cabinets, hutches, bowls and shoes."[9] Although the first houses, built in 1768, were wood, by the beginning of the 1800s, they were being built of stone, which was also plentiful.[10][9] An oft-repeated adage explained such abundance this way: "Our fathers lost Acadia; In return, [we] found the richest lands of Lower Canada.... In [our] veins flow[s] the purest French blood."[10]

In 1772, the parish of Saint-Jacques-de-l'Achigan was founded.[1] That same year, the villagers hired a priest and, in 1775, they built their first church.[12] Nine years later, they began cultivating tobacco, which became so essential it is pictured on one of the four quadrants of the municipality's coat of arms.[9][13] Other agricultural crops followed: corn, grain, as well as dairy farms in the swine industry, vegetable farming, the farming of mink, and maple trees, eventually leading to the development of off-season industries and factories.[9]

In 1835, its post office opened with the abbreviated name of Saint-Jacques. In 1845, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Jacques-de-Saint-Sulpice or L'Achigan was formed, but abolished in 1847 to become part of the County Municipality of L'Assomption. In 1855, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Jacques(-de-l'Achigan) was reestablished.[1] By 1895, Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World Containing Notices of Over One Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Places described Saint-Jacques this way:

SAINT JACQUES DE L’ACHIGAN, a post-village of Québec, co. of Montcalm, 13 miles N.N.W. of L'Assomption. It has a church, a convent, a brewery, &c. Pop. 800.[14]

In 1912, the Village Municipality of Saint-Jacques-de-l'Achigan was created when it ceded from the parish municipality. Its name was shortened to Saint-Jacques in 1917, and 3 years later, the name of the parish municipality was also abbreviated.[1]

In 1998, the village municipality and the parish municipality merged to form the new Municipality of Saint-Jacques.[1]

Demographics

[edit]

Population

[edit]
Historical census populations – Saint-Jacques, Quebec
YearPop.±%
2001 3,692—    
2006 3,706+0.4%
YearPop.±%
2011 4,021+8.5%
2016 3,971−1.2%
YearPop.±%
2021 4,302+8.3%
Source: Statistics Canada[3]

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents (2021): 1,892 (total dwellings: 1,939)[3]

Language

[edit]

Mother tongue language (2021)[15]

Language Population Pct (%)
French only 4,120 97.1%
English only 25 0.6%
Both English and French 40 0.9%
Other languages 55 1.3%

Attractions

[edit]
  • Saint-Jacques is a destination for outdoor activities such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and hiking.[16]
  • In addition to the Parc des Cultures, which uses arts, horticulture and ornament to memorialize the municipality's history, it also hosts the hiker-friendly Parc de la Coulée.[16]
  • The Maison de la Nouvelle-Acadie (Home of the New Acadia) is a small museum that traces the eight-part story of the Acadian arrival in Canada from 1604 to the foundation of Saint-Jacques in 1774.[17]
  • Several structures are listed on both the Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec and the Canadian Register of Historic Places:[18][19]
    • l'ancien bureau de poste
    • l’église de Saint-Jacques
    • la maison Louise-Pariseau
    • le parc des cultures
    • le parc Grand-Pré
    • la maison de la Nouvelle-Acadie
    • le couvent des sœurs de Sainte-Anne
    • le centre culturel du Vieux-Collège

Education

[edit]
French-language Schools English-language Schools
Governance Commission scolaire des Samares The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board
Elementary École de Grand-Pré[20] Joliette Elementary School in Saint-Charles-Borromée[21]
High School École Saint-Louis-de-France[22] Joliette High School in Joliette[23]

Notable people

[edit]
  • Francis Cassidy (1827–1873), lawyer and Mayor of Montreal for three months, dying in office
  • Bernard Landry (1937–2018), Premier of Quebéc from 2001–2003

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Banque de noms de lieux du Québec: Reference number 338834". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
  2. ^ a b "Répertoire des municipalités: Geographic code 63013". www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation.
  3. ^ a b c d "Saint-Jacques, Quebec (Code 2463013) Census Profile". 2021 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  4. ^ Official Transport Quebec Road Map
  5. ^ Statistics Canada: 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 census
  6. ^ a b c "Quebec". Acadie. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  7. ^ a b Lanaudière, Tourisme. "Municipalité de Saint-Jacques". Tourisme Lanaudière. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  8. ^ a b "Acadian Deportation, Migration, and Resettlement - Canadian-American Center - University of Maine". Canadian-American Center. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Historique". Municipalité de Saint-Jacques (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  10. ^ a b c "Saint-Jacques, une nouvelle Acadie". epe.lac-bac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  11. ^ "Farming - Acadian Culture in Maine". acim.umfk.edu. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  12. ^ a b "Saint-Jacques - A priest so dedicated and caring". Acadie. 2019-11-26. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  13. ^ "Armoiries et logo". Municipalité de Saint-Jacques (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  14. ^ "History of Saint-Jacques, Québec, Canada - Postcards, Stories, Ancestry, News, Travel, Photos | GREENERPASTURE". greenerpasture.com. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  15. ^ 2021 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Saint-Jacques, Quebec
  16. ^ a b "Saint-Jacques, Québec, Canada (Saint-Jacques-de-Montcalm) (Saint Jacques de l'Achigan) - 2023 - Here's A List Of Places To Go And Things To Do In And Around Saint-Jacques-De-L'achigan: | GREENERPASTURE". greenerpasture.com. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  17. ^ "Maison de la Nouvelle-Acadie". BaladoDécouverte (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  18. ^ "Circuit historique de Saint-Jacques | Nouvelle-Acadie". Municipalité de Saint-Jacques (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  19. ^ "Historic circuit of Saint-Jacques | New-Acadia". BaladoDiscovery. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  20. ^ "de Grand-Pré." Commission scolaire des Samares. Retrieved on September 23, 2017.
  21. ^ "JOLIETTE ELEMENTARY ZONE." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 17, 2017.
  22. ^ "Saint-Louis-de-France." Commission scolaire des Samares. Retrieved on September 23, 2017.
  23. ^ "Joliette High School Zone Sec 1-5." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 5, 2017.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint-Jacques, Quebec.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saint-Jacques,_Quebec&oldid=1274120567"