Saint-Jacques, Quebec

Saint-Jacques
Municipality
The now heavily touristed Rue Ste-Anne dates to before the 18th century.
The now heavily touristed Rue Ste-Anne dates to before the 18th century.
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]
Country Canada
Province Quebec
RegionLanaudière
RCMMontcalm
ConstitutedMay 20, 1998
Government
[2]
 • MayorJosyanne Forest
 • Federal ridingMontcalm
 • Prov. ridingJoliette
Area
[2][3]
 • Total67.20 km2 (25.95 sq mi)
 • Land67.17 km2 (25.93 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[3]
 • Total4,302
 • 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

Saint-Jacques (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ ʒak] ⓘ) is a 26 mi² (67.34 km²) rural municipality in the Lanaudière region of Québec, Canada, part of the Montcalm Regional County Municipality with a population of 4,300 year-round residents.[5]

Founded in 1774 by 30 Acadian families from Boston who returned to Québec by boat after forced expulsion, the region is known as the "Acadian cradle of Lanaudière."[6] The great disturbance, known in French as "Le Grand Dérangement" that led to their deportation, and eventually landed them in Saint-Jacques, "began in the fall of 1755 and lasted until 1778."[7][8] "The first removals ... [of] approximately 7,000 people, were from settlements around the Bay of Fundy" in present-day Nova Scotia.[7]

Named Saint-Jacques-de-la-Nouvelle-Acadie to commemorate the Acadians' second pioneering effort, the municipality provided the settlers key resources for living off the land.[8][9][10] 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."[8] Thus the first houses in the municipality were built in 1768.[8]

In 1772, the villagers hired a priest and, in 1775, they built their first church. 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.[8][10][11] 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.[8] For all of its success, the municipality remained quiet. In 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 summed it up 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.[12]

More than 100 years later, the church and convent are tourist attractions, the name is shorter and the municipality's crops draw tourists in search of lush gardens, fruitful orchards, organic farms, sustainable pork and an annual gourmet food festival, known as "Les Fêtes gourmandes de Lanaudière."[6][13] Between 2016–18, the municipality's Parc des Cultures was recognized with four out of five Fleurons du Québec for its horticultural appeal.[14][15]

Tourism

  • Known for its snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and hiking, Saint-Jacques is also a destination for fresh organic food enthusiasts and nature lovers who seek to stroll in picturesque lavender fields.[13]
  • 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, among other parks.[13]
  • 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.[16]
  • A mobile application is available for self-guided tours through eight "points of interest: The old post office (pictured below), la Maison Louise-Pariseau, the park Grand-Pré, the former convent of the Sisters of Sainte-Anne, l’église (church) de Saint-Jacques, le parc des Cultures, the Maison de la Nouvelle-Acadie and le centre culturel du Vieux-Collège (the cultural center of the Old College), which was purposely built to educate the sons of farmers."[17][18]

Demographics

Population Trends[5]
Year Total Inhabitants
2021* 4,302
2016* 3,971
2011 4,021
2006 3,706
2001 3,692
*2016 to 2021 population change: 8.3%
Dwellings
Type Total residents
Private* 1,892
Total 1,939
*Occupied by regular residents
First Language
Language % of Speakers
English 0.6
French 97.1
English and French 0.9
Other 1.3

Education

French-language Schools English-language Schools
Governance Commission scolaire des Samares The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board
Elementary École de Grand-Pré[19] Joliette Elementary School in Saint-Charles-Borromée[20]
High School École Saint-Louis-de-France[21] Joliette High School in Joliette[22]

References

  1. ^ "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 Statistics Canada 2021 Census - Saint-Jacques census profile
  4. ^ Official Transport Quebec Road Map
  5. ^ a b Statistics Canada: 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 census
  6. ^ a b Lanaudière, Tourisme. "Municipalité de Saint-Jacques". Tourisme Lanaudière. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  7. ^ a b "Acadian Deportation, Migration, and Resettlement - Canadian-American Center - University of Maine". Canadian-American Center. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Historique". Municipalité de Saint-Jacques (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  9. ^ "Farming - Acadian Culture in Maine". acim.umfk.edu. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  10. ^ a b "Historique". Municipalité de Saint-Jacques (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  11. ^ "Armoiries et logo". Municipalité de Saint-Jacques (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  12. ^ "History of Saint-Jacques, Québec, Canada - Postcards, Stories, Ancestry, News, Travel, Photos | GREENERPASTURE". greenerpasture.com. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  13. ^ a b c "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.
  14. ^ http://ixmedia.com, iXmédia-. "Qui sommes-nous? | Les Fleurons du Québec". www.fleuronsduquebec.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-27. {cite web}: External link in |last= (help)
  15. ^ "Parcs et installations". Municipalité de Saint-Jacques (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  16. ^ "Maison de la Nouvelle-Acadie". BaladoDécouverte (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  17. ^ "Circuit historique de Saint-Jacques | Nouvelle-Acadie". Municipalité de Saint-Jacques (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  18. ^ "Historic circuit of Saint-Jacques | New-Acadia". BaladoDiscovery. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  19. ^ "de Grand-Pré." Commission scolaire des Samares. Retrieved on September 23, 2017.
  20. ^ "JOLIETTE ELEMENTARY ZONE." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 17, 2017.
  21. ^ "Saint-Louis-de-France." Commission scolaire des Samares. Retrieved on September 23, 2017.
  22. ^ "Joliette High School Zone Sec 1-5." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 5, 2017.

External links

Media related to Saint-Jacques, Quebec at Wikimedia Commons

The now heavily touristed Rue Ste-Anne dates to before the 18th century.
Wayside cross, commemorating the first mass at Bas-de-l’Église Nord (the base of North Church).
Refining sugar in a wood-burning stove is also an area specialty.
The earliest post office in Sainte-Jacques, constructed ca. 1875.