Castle-Richer

Castle-Richer is a city of the Quebec, located in the regional Municipalité of county of the Coast-of-Bowsprit, in the administrative area of the Capital-Main road. Its borders are respectively, the Fleuve the St. Lawrence in south-east, the town of the Angel-Guard in south-west, the municipality of Holy-Brigitte-of-Laval in the North-West (Rivière Montmorency), the grounds of the Séminaire of Quebec in north and the town of Holy-Anne-of-Bowsprit in the North-West.

History

Church of Castle-Richer (behind the St. Lawrence river and the Island of Orleans)

The French colonization of the place goes up with the creation of the Seigneurie of Bowsprit in 1636 and of that of the Île of Orleans which faces him. Olivier the Late one is considered by the historian Raymond Gariépy as the true founder of the village which conceded the first grounds with the colonists.

The Paroisse of the Visitation of Notre-Dame of Castle-Richer is the oldest parish rural Catholique in the north of the Mexico.

Origin of the name

The first mention of the name Castle-Richer appears as of 1642 on the chart of the land-surveyor Jean Bourdon to indicate the headland where is set up the current church of the Visitation of Notre-Dame. Several legends and accounts try to provide an explanation to this name of uncommon village to the Quebec and to which no Château can refer.

Cours d' water

River of Lottainville known as of the Small-Pre
River Cazeau
River Lemoyne
River of the Sault-with-the-Chip
River with the Dogs
Lake of the Castle

Geography

The territory of Castle-Richer is located at the north-eastern end of the Low-Grounds of the St. Lawrence and on the buttresses of the Canadian Bouclier whose Laurentides form the first mountainous chain.

" Concessions"

History and geography

the Concessions is the local denomination to indicate the back-country colonized about 1840 by Irish Catholique S. the poverty of the unsuitable materials to agriculture will make them flee quickly and they will be replaced the following decade by a settlement French Canadian (only three farms are always active on the score who occupied the territory in the beginning). The grounds, divided with the French manner (narrow strips of land perpendicular to a river) are established in its affluent and valleys Sault-with-the-Chip. The Concessions include/understand the road Saint-Achillée, the row Saint-Ignace, the row Saint-Achillée-West, the row Saint-Achillée-Is and the Valley of the Kings. One counts there a permanent population of 300 hearts which fluctuates to 600 people at the time of the summer period. Called a long time the Small Switzerland , the valley of Saint-Achillée is characterized by a alluvial Plaine with the hollow of a valley. Its highest and visible peak of everywhere is called " Mountain of Croix" because of a cross which overcomes its top since more than one century.

Toponymy

The name of the Saint-Ignace row refers to the founder of the Jésuites, saint Ignace de Loyola while the name Saint-Achillée pays homage to the founder of the mission, the priest Achille Pelletier. A widespread mistake consists in believing that Saint-Achillée name is a deformation spoken about Saint-Achilles. Actually, there does not exist any saint of the name of Achilles and the name Achillée refers rather to the Diacre Achillée, martyrized with his/her companions with Valence in IVe century.

Economy

If the Saint-Ignace row is characterized by a vocation of holiday centered on the horsemanship, the rows close forming the Localité to Saint-Achillée-of-Montmorency constitute a true village core based on a agriculture of subsistence, the forestry development and the holiday which takes place more and more, so much on a private basis than commercial (Dejro Field). Until the middle of the XXe century, Saint-Achillée had his clean school of row, his mill with saw and his general Magasin. At various times, several careers exploited the mineral richnesses such as the Calcaire of Trenton, the Granite and the Sable. One finds also some layers of Mica. Despite everything, the local economy is strongly based on the Forestry development, the Winter sports (sledge with dog) and horsemanship, holiday and marginally on the Farm. The majority of the inhabitants now move downtown to work, attracted by the advantages of Quebec.

Inheritance

The Royal avenue

Hudon House or Red House, Batch 350 and 353 of the parish, concession of the lord Bertrand Chesnay of Garenne (1655) rebuilt on " a ruin of three walls and a hearth in pierre" in 1764 by the Cazeau captain who gave his name to the river éponyme and increased by Me Hudon in 1940. Me Hudon was, then, the senior of the Faculty of Law of the Laval university. The historical house of Richer Castle has in particular fallout shelters built to shelter the family of Me Hudon like, extremely probably, the Prime Minister of Canada in 1953 Louis Stephen St-Laurent. The house was restored completely by a couple of Franco-Canadian writers in 2006-2007.

Red house before its sale by the Cazeau family in 1940

Red house in 2007

The Saint-Achillée vault

The Hamlet of Saint-Achillée énorguellit always of his houses and old barns built at the time of colonization. Nearly 15 old residences always border the rows of approximately of which the Jacques-Asselin house known as of P' tit Asselin (1843), the house Jean-Baptist-Cauchon (1910), restored in 2003-2004). Moreover, one finds three caveaux with vegetables, characteristic of the Coast-of-Bowsprit, one which goes back to colonization on the farm of Jean-Georges Trudel, a second, built in the years 1950 per Maurice Trépanier and the other set up hones some in 2002 per Jean-Claude Lachance.

However, the central cultural attraction of the area is the Saint-Achillée Vault, set up in 1885 by the priest Achille Pelletier (some make go up his construction at the year of the Canadian Confédération in 1867. Of very simple form, it consists of a typical body of frame of the traditional house to which is next to a chorus in Appentis added about 1937 by the priest O' Neil. The interior, very stripped, on the other hand is very coloured. It always shelters its original furnace bridge and various religious artefacts. Moreover, one finds there old furniture of the XIXe century coming from the Presbytère of Castle-Richer. Finally, an old side furnace bridge designed by the architect Zéphirin Perreault in 1874 for the church of the the Visitation is principal work decorating the sanctuary since the years 1970. Since the autumn 2004, the gate vault was restored. This furnace bridge, of a neo-classic style drifting towards the eclecticism, shelters a plaster work of the Italian sculptor Thomas Carli of Montreal representing the Dernière Cène of Léonard de Vinci in Ronde-bosse. The Saint-Achillée vault is currently in restoration since 2004 pennies the initiative of a committee of voluntary, Town of Castle-Richer and government.

The Gravel vault

The Gravel vault was contruite in 1941 to commemorate tercentenary arrival of Joseph-Massed Gravel, the ancestor of the Gravel families, in 1641. It is located on the Royale avenue, with Castle-Richer, very close to the Huot way and opposite number 8666, of the Royale avenue.

This small vault was devoted to Our-Lady-in-the Assomption. It is a vault of procession where the faithful ones gathered to request and sing canticles with the Virgin. the abbot Pierre Gravel, born on September 24th, 1899 with Castle-Richer and deceased in Quebec on August 29th, 1977, was the project superintendent and the heart of all the religious ceremonies which took place during 36 years there. The Gravel abbot joined together the faithful ones to the Fête of the Saint-Jean-Baptist and at the time of the festival of Our-Lady-in-the Assomption (August 15th) to request and sing.

Many Québécois tourists and American visit this small vault each year.

Municipalities bordering

Sources

Repertory of the municipalities of Quebec
Commission of toponymy of Quebec
municipal Businesses and areas - regional charts

Random links: