Félix Gatineau was a French-Canadian statesman and historian in his adopted hometown of Southbridge

Southbridge, Massachusetts

The Town of Southbridge is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,719 at the 2010 census.-History:...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. He was born in Sainte-Victoire, Quebec, an area halfway between Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 and Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

. Gatineau arrived in Southbridge in 1877. Among his many deeds, he was a state representative in Massachusetts in 1906, 1920-21, and 1927, and led several French-Canadian societies. His written works include L'Histoire des Franco-Américains de Southbridge and L'Historique des Conventions Générales des Canadiens-Français aux Etats-Unis.

A statue was erected in his honor in Southbridge at a fork in a main road. The Gatineau bust is a local landmark, and often serves as a wayfinder, with locals directing people "Félix to the left" or "Félix to the right."