Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is a town in the province of Quebec
in the regional county municipality
of Les Laurentides
, in the administrative region of Laurentides
, also known as the "Laurentians" or the Laurentian Mountains (in English). Ste-Agathe-des-Monts borders on a lake called Lac des Sable, and is located approximately 100 kilometres north of Montreal
.
The town has been twinned with Lagny-sur-Marne
, France
since 1969 and Saranac Lake
, New York
since 2002.
.
Beginning in 1850, a rapid colonization of the region began. The arriving families were primarily of French
Catholic
background . The village itself is centred around a Catholic church built in 1904. In 1865, the land on which the church stands was donated to the parish
by Dr. Euseble Larocque, brother of the Monsignor. Dr. Larocque had amassed a fortune in the California Gold Rush
and had decided to live the life of a seigneur
. He bought several farms around Lac à la Truite (Trout Lake) and area but was too kind-hearted to ask for the rents. There is also a smaller Anglican church, "Holy Trinity Anglican Parish", in the town. In 1926 the Lord Bishop
of the Anglican Church of Montreal
presided over the dedication of the current building. The English Protestant community grew from the time the train first arrived in 1892.
s and hospitals were established. In 1899, a tuberculosis
hospital was founded by Dr. Arthur Richer. Elizabeth Wand, a nurse from New York city established a spa, which today still operates as Auberge Tour du Lac. It was believed at the time that fresh mountain air could help cure tuberculosis and other pulmonary diseases. By 1910, many wealthy families from Montreal
and northern United States had built residences along the shoreline of Lac des Sable. Octavien Rolland, third son of J.B. Rolland, founder of Rolland Paper
was among the first to arrive. Between 1892 and 1910, the assessed value of the buildings in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts had increased 20 times. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the town was a popular tourist centre with a number of large resort hotels plus many shops and restaurants.
In the 1980s, Ste-Agathe-des-Monts grew as a four-season tourist destination with a broad range of activities for cottagers and residents alike. As a growing service-centre for the surrounding region, its economic base became more diverse with a strong foundation of tourism activities that included, in the summer, horse-back riding, boating, fishing, and lakeside recreation, as well as the winter activities of cross-country skiing, dog-sled racing, skating, and ice hockey. While the train is no longer in service, there is an extensive bike path that has replaced it called "Le Petit Train Du Nord"
. It directly connects to other paths that extend as far as Montreal.
Today, the town is characterized by its history and tradition of B&Bs
, Inns, Hotels, and Spas. As a growing municipality, it has a developing service area that includes a new Wal-Mart
, Super 8
, and Jean Coutu
(among others) strategically placed on on the edge of the town so as to not affect its village atmosphere.
, New York, and New Jersey
vacation amidst the lakes and mountains surrounding the town. In addition to an open and tolerant French population, many of whom are bilingual and have connections to cosmopolitan Montreal, there is a large historic summer Jewish community which fosters a diversity and acceptance that further attracts a variety of urban Anglophone and Allophone
cottagers to the town.
Total private dwellings, excluding seasonal cottages: 4271 (total: 5642)
Mother tongue (permanent residents, excluding seasonal cottagers):
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
in the regional county municipality
Regional county municipality
The term regional county municipality or RCM is used in Quebec to designate one of 86 county-like political and geographic units. In most cases, they are also census divisions. Regional County Municipalities are a supralocal type of "Regional Municipality" and are still commonly referred to as...
of Les Laurentides
Les Laurentides Regional County Municipality, Quebec
Les Laurentides is a Regional County Municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentides region. The seat is in Saint-Faustin-Lac-Carré and it is named after the Laurentian Mountains...
, in the administrative region of Laurentides
Laurentides (region)
The Laurentides is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains...
, also known as the "Laurentians" or the Laurentian Mountains (in English). Ste-Agathe-des-Monts borders on a lake called Lac des Sable, and is located approximately 100 kilometres north of 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...
.
The town has been twinned with Lagny-sur-Marne
Lagny-sur-Marne
Lagny-sur-Marne is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France from the center of Paris....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
since 1969 and Saranac Lake
Saranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake is a village located in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406. The village is named after Upper, Middle, and Lower Saranac Lakes, which are nearby....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
since 2002.
Settlement
In 1849, the first families arrived on the northern fringe of the area, a settlement established by Augustin Norbert MorinAugustin-Norbert Morin
Augustin-Norbert Morin was a lawyer, judgeBorn in Saint-Michel, Lower Canada, into a large Roman Catholic farming family, Morin was identified by the parish priest at a young age as a boy of exceptional talent and intelligence. The parish priest therefore arranged for his education at the...
.
Beginning in 1850, a rapid colonization of the region began. The arriving families were primarily of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
background . The village itself is centred around a Catholic church built in 1904. In 1865, the land on which the church stands was donated to the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
by Dr. Euseble Larocque, brother of the Monsignor. Dr. Larocque had amassed a fortune in the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
and had decided to live the life of a seigneur
Seigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
. He bought several farms around Lac à la Truite (Trout Lake) and area but was too kind-hearted to ask for the rents. There is also a smaller Anglican church, "Holy Trinity Anglican Parish", in the town. In 1926 the Lord Bishop
Lord Bishop
"Lord Bishop" is a traditional form of address used for bishops since the Middle Ages, an era when bishops occupied the feudal rank of 'lord' by virtue of their office...
of the Anglican Church of Montreal
Anglican Diocese of Montreal
The Diocese of Montreal is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada of the Anglican Church of Canada, in turn a province of the Anglican Communion. The diocese comprises the 21,400 square kilometres encompassing the City and Island of Montreal, the Laurentians, the South Shore opposite...
presided over the dedication of the current building. The English Protestant community grew from the time the train first arrived in 1892.
Development
With the completion of a railroad to Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts in 1892, the town experienced a rapid increase in population. Between 1892 and 1911, a number of spaSpa
The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...
s and hospitals were established. In 1899, a tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
hospital was founded by Dr. Arthur Richer. Elizabeth Wand, a nurse from New York city established a spa, which today still operates as Auberge Tour du Lac. It was believed at the time that fresh mountain air could help cure tuberculosis and other pulmonary diseases. By 1910, many wealthy families from 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 northern United States had built residences along the shoreline of Lac des Sable. Octavien Rolland, third son of J.B. Rolland, founder of Rolland Paper
Jean-Baptiste Rolland
Jean-Baptiste Rolland was a Canadian printer, bookseller, businessman, and politician.Born in Verchères, Lower Canada, the son of Pierre Roland and Euphrasine Donay, his family moved to Saint-Hyacinthe in 1828. In 1832, Rolland moved to Montreal where he worked as an apprentice typographer...
was among the first to arrive. Between 1892 and 1910, the assessed value of the buildings in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts had increased 20 times. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the town was a popular tourist centre with a number of large resort hotels plus many shops and restaurants.
Recent times
Parc Linéaire Le P'tit Train du Nord
The ' is a multi-use recreational rail trail located in Quebec.It runs for between Saint-Jérôme and Mont-Laurier and is used for biking and hiking.-See also:* Laurentides* List of rail trails* List of rail trails in Canada-External links:...
. It directly connects to other paths that extend as far as Montreal.
Today, the town is characterized by its history and tradition of B&Bs
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
, Inns, Hotels, and Spas. As a growing municipality, it has a developing service area that includes a new Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
, Super 8
Super 8 Motels
Super 8 Hotels Inc. is the world's largest budget hotel chain, with hotels in the United States and Canada, as well as newer properties in China. The company is a subsidiary of Wyndham Worldwide, formerly a part of Cendant.-History:...
, and Jean Coutu
Jean Coutu Group
The Jean Coutu Group Inc. is a Canadian drugstore chain headquartered in Longueuil, Quebec. It has more than 360 franchised locations in New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec under the PJC Jean Coutu, PJC Clinique and PJC Santé Beauté banners...
(among others) strategically placed on on the edge of the town so as to not affect its village atmosphere.
English community
Next to Mont Tremblant, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts has the largest population of English-speaking summer cottage residents in the Laurentians (with a smaller but still sizable winter cottage population as well, particularly on the weekends). Generations of cottagers from English Montreal, OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, New York, and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
vacation amidst the lakes and mountains surrounding the town. In addition to an open and tolerant French population, many of whom are bilingual and have connections to cosmopolitan Montreal, there is a large historic summer Jewish community which fosters a diversity and acceptance that further attracts a variety of urban Anglophone and Allophone
Allophone
In phonology, an allophone is one of a set of multiple possible spoken sounds used to pronounce a single phoneme. For example, and are allophones for the phoneme in the English language...
cottagers to the town.
Demographics
Population:- Population in 2006: 9679 (2001 to 2006 population change: 8.0 %)
- Population in 2001:
- Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts: 7121
- Sainte-Agathe-Nord: 1566
- Population in 1996:
- Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts: 5669
- Sainte-Agathe-Nord: 1454
- Sainte-Agathe-Sud: 2209
- Population in 1991:
- Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts: 5452
- Sainte-Agathe-Nord: 1221
- Sainte-Agathe-Sud: 1918
Total private dwellings, excluding seasonal cottages: 4271 (total: 5642)
Mother tongue (permanent residents, excluding seasonal cottagers):
- English as first language: 5 %
- French as first language: 91 %
- English and French as first language: 1 %
- Other as first language: 3 %
Climate
Notable persons
- Canadian author Mordechai Richler set his novel, The Apprenticeship of Duddy KravitzThe Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz (book)The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is the fourth novel by Canadian author Mordecai Richler. It was first published in 1959 by André Deutsch, then adapted to the screen in 1974.-Plot and setting:...
, in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts.
- Former Quebec premier Jean-Jacques BertrandJean-Jacques BertrandJean-Jacques Bertrand was the 21st Premier of Quebec, Canada, from October 2, 1968 to May 12, 1970. He led the Union Nationale party.-Member of the legislature:...
(1916–1973) was a native of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts.
Notable organizations
- The Commission Scolaire des Laurentides school board is headquartered in the town.
- The Centre Hospitalier Laurentien is the local hospitalHospitalA hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
.