La Minerve, Quebec

La Minerve
Municipality

Lake Marie-Louise in La Minerve

Location within Les Laurentides RCM.
La Minerve

Location in central Quebec.

Coordinates: 46°15′N 74°56′W / 46.250°N 74.933°W / 46.250; -74.933Coordinates: 46°15′N 74°56′W / 46.250°N 74.933°W / 46.250; -74.933[1]
Country  Canada
Province  Quebec
Region Laurentides
RCM Les Laurentides
Settled 1885
Constituted December 30, 1892
Government[2]
  Mayor Jean Pierre Monette
  Federal riding Laurentides—Labelle
  Prov. riding Labelle
Area[2][3]
  Total 328.10 km2 (126.68 sq mi)
  Land 278.01 km2 (107.34 sq mi)
Population (2011)[3]
  Total 1,234
  Density 4.4/km2 (11/sq mi)
  Pop 2006-2011 Decrease 4.7%
  Dwellings 1,586
Time zone EST (UTC−5)
  Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s) J0T 1S0
Area code(s) 819
Highways No major routes
Website www.municipalite.
laminerve.qc.ca

La Minerve is a village and municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Les Laurentides Regional County Municipality.

Located in the Laurentian Mountains, La Minerve is still fairly forested and covered with many lakes, notably Chapleau, Désert, and La Minerve Lakes. Its southern portion is part of the Papineau-Labelle Wildlife Reserve. The area is popular for cottage vacationing. In the summer, the small local population swells with nearly 15,000 tourists.[4]

History

Before the arrival of missionary colonizer Antoine Labelle, journalists of the Montreal newspaper "La Minerve" explored this region between 1880 and 1885. At that time, the Club Island was known as "Governor Island" and belonged to Sir Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau, controller of the newspaper.[4] Afterwards, employees of La Minerve began to strongly encourage the settlement of the area which came to be named after this newspaper.[5] The 30 January 1886 edition of La Minerve reported:

"From Iroquois Chute, you can go on a good road to Minerva Township, where there are several inhabitants and where the chapel, the sawmill needs to be built soon. The site of the village is wonderful. At two miles away, opposite Lake Desert, is Chapleau Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in this region. There is a beautiful island of 3200 acres of land, fertile and well wooded, which belongs to the Honorable Secretary of State. There is enough to make a princely mansion and enjoy in summer all the benefits of country life and the most beautiful lakes."[4]

During the years 1880 to 1890, the government granted the first land concessions. The first settler, Isaac Grégoire, arrived in 1885, and in the fall of the same year, notary Joseph Lefebvre, from Waterloo in the Eastern Townships, and some of his friends came to the area taking possession of some lots in La Minerve. Lefebvre opened a flour mill and a sawmill on the shores of Lake Desert.[4]

In 1892, the Township of La Minerve and its township municipality were formed. In 1896, the post office opened, named Minerve (but renamed to La Minerve in 1949).[5] In 1897, there were 331 acres (1.34 km2) under cultivation, 13 houses, 4 barns, 40 arpents of fencing (about 2.34 km). Twenty years later in 1917, there were 125 families with a total of 677 inhabitants.[4]

On January 1, 1995, La Minerve absorbed the unorganized territories of Lac-Marie-Le Franc and Lac-aux-Castors located in the Labelle and Gagnon townships, but subsequently lost about 20 square kilometres (7.7 sq mi) to the Municipality of Labelle. In 1998, the Township Municipality of La Minerve obtained a new legal status and became the Municipality of La Minerve.[5]

Demographics

Population trend:[6]

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 601 (total dwellings: 1586)

Mother tongue:

References

  1. Reference number 347587 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (French)
  2. 1 2 Geographic code 78130 in the official Répertoire des municipalités (French)
  3. 1 2 "(Code 2478130) Census Profile". 2011 census. Statistics Canada. 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Historique" (in French). Municipalité de La Minerve. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  5. 1 2 3 "La Minerve (Municipalité)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  6. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census



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