Wikipedia

Lac-Mégantic, Quebec

"Lac-Mégantic" redirects here. For the lake the town is named after, seeLake Mégantic.For the 2013 rail derailment, fire, and explosion, seeLac-Mégantic rail disaster.For other uses, seeMégantic.

Lac-Mégantic(French pronunciation:[lakmeɡɑ̃tik]) is atownin theEstrieregion ofQuebec,Canada.It is located onLac Mégantic,a freshwater lake after which the town was named. Situated in the formerFrontenac Countyin the historicEastern Townships,Lac-Mégantic is the seat ofLe Granit Regional County Municipalityand of thejudicial districtof Mégantic.[4]

Lac-Mégantic
Town
Location within Le Granit RCM.
Location within Le Granit RCM.
Lac-Mégantic is located in Southern Quebec
Lac-Mégantic
Lac-Mégantic
Location in southern Quebec.
Lac-Mégantic is located in Quebec
Lac-Mégantic
Lac-Mégantic
Lac-Mégantic (Quebec)
Lac-Mégantic is located in Canada
Lac-Mégantic
Lac-Mégantic
Lac-Mégantic (Canada)
Coordinates:45°35′N70°53′W/ 45.583°N 70.883°W/45.583; -70.883[1]
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionEstrie
RCMLe Granit
Settled1884
ConstitutedMarch 14, 1907
Government
[2]
• MayorJulie Morin
•Federal ridingMégantic—L'Érable
•Prov. ridingMégantic
Area
[2][3]
• Total
25.20 km2(9.73 sq mi)
• Land21.98 km2(8.49 sq mi)
Population
(2021)[3]
• Total
5,747
• Density261.5/km2(677/sq mi)
• Pop2016-2021
Increase1.6%
• Dwellings
3,143
Time zoneUTC−5(EST)
• Summer (DST)UTC−4(EDT)
Postal code(s)
G6B
Area code819
HighwaysR-161
R-204
Websitewww.ville.
lac-megantic.qc.ca

Lac-Mégantic was a tourist destination and a producer of forestry products, furniture, Masonite doors, particleboard, and architectural granite before July 6, 2013, when theLac-Mégantic rail disasterled to a massive fire and deadly explosion ofpetroleumtank carsthat destroyed many downtown buildings and killed 47 people.

History

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Main Avenue (Avenue Principale) in 1910.

Prior to contact with Europeans, the region was inhabited by theAbenaki.Archaeologicaldigs found that theAmerindianshad been in the region for over 12,000 years, making this the oldest known site of human occupation in Quebec.[5]The name of Mégantic comes from theAbenakiword "namesokanjik" which translates to "place where the fish are held."[6]

The first known European to discover the region was aCatholicmissionary,Father Druillettes of theSociety of Jesus,who arrived in 1646. He came to convert the Abenaki.[6]

The first colonists to settle in the region came two centuries later, around 1850, and were ofFrench CanadianorScottishorigin.[5]

Originally called Megantic, the town was founded in 1884 after theCanadian Pacific Railwaybegan construction of the final segment in itstranscontinental railwaylinkingMontrealwith theAtlantic Oceanport ofSaint John,New Brunswick.This line opened in 1889, and was operated byInternational Railway of Maine,a subsidiary of CPR. Mégantic was the meeting place of two railroads at that time: the Canadian Pacific Railway and theQuebec Central Railway.The CPR line was more important because of its adaptation to large freight and passenger trains.

Nearby Agnès, founded in 1895, was named afterSusan Agnes Bernard,the widow of Prime Minister of Canada SirJohn A. Macdonald.It merged with Mégantic in 1907.[6]Macdonald and his wife had visited the area in 1879.[6]Mégantic was renamed Lac-Mégantic in 1958, after the adjacentLake Mégantic,located on the municipality's southern boundary. Lac-Mégantic consisted of two Roman Catholic parishes, Sainte-Agnès and Notre-Dame-de-Fatima.

An important figure of Lac-Mégantic was Joseph Édouard Eugène Choquette, a priest, who, in his spare time, was an amateur scientist. He was the catalyst for the creation of an electric lighting system which, on the eve ofChristmasin 1898, illuminated the entire city; and a power company. Father Choquette was also an amateur photographer.[7]

Donald Morrison case

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The first mayor (1885-1888) of Mégantic was Malcolm MacAuley, who was linked to theDonald Morrisoncase. Morrison's family had immigrated from theIsle of Lewis,in theOuter HebridesofScotlandand had settled locally in a largelyCanadian Gaelic-speaking farming community.[6]Donald Morrison moved outwestto work as acowboyon a ranch, sending money home to pay off the family debts. When he returned home, he found his family had lost their farm after they had signed a bad debt deal with Mayor MacAuley, the wealthiest resident in the town at the time.[6]A barn belonging to the new owner was burned to the ground, and Donald Morrison was immediately charged witharson.Abountyof $25 was placed on Morrison, and an Americanbailiffwas paid $2.50 a day to track him down.[6]The bailiff was killed in a gunfight with Morrison on the town's main street. Morrison was chased through the woods for another ten months before being wounded, captured, and imprisoned. He died of tuberculosis five years later.[6]

Lac-Mégantic derailment

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Main article:Lac-Mégantic rail disaster
Area of derailment, fires, and explosions

At approximately 01:15EDT,[8][9]on July 6, 2013, an unattended 73-car[10][11][12]freight traincarryingcrude oilran away andderailednear the downtown area of Lac-Mégantic, causing multipletank carsto catch fire and explode. Forty-seven people were killed or presumed killed[13]in the explosion and ensuing blaze, making the derailment Canada's deadliest rail disaster since theSt-Hilaire train disasterin 1864.[14]More than 30 buildings in the town's centre were destroyed, including the town's library and archives.[9][15]The police launched a criminal investigation,[16]charging theMontreal, Maine and Atlantic Railwayand three workers with criminal negligence. Of the 39 downtown buildings still standing as of December 2014, thirty-six are to be demolished due to petroleum contamination of the underlying grounds.[17]

Geography

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Lac-Mégantic is located at the eastern part of theEstrieadministrative region, in theRegional County Municipality of Le Granit,approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) from theUnited Statesborder. TheChaudière Riverhas its source inLake Meganticand empties into theSt. Lawrence River,some 175 kilometres (109 mi) further north, nearLévis(within the former city ofSaint-Romuald). The Town of Lac-Mégantic is located 50 kilometres (31 mi) fromMont Mégantic.

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
19816,119—
19865,732−6.3%
19915,852+2.1%
19965,864+0.2%
20015,897+0.6%
20065,967+1.2%
20115,932−0.6%
20165,654−4.7%
20215,747+1.6%

In the2021 Census of Populationconducted byStatistics Canada,Lac-Mégantic had a population of5,747living in2,938of its3,143total private dwellings, a change of1.6% from its 2016 population of5,654.With a land area of 21.98 km2(8.49 sq mi), it had a population density of261.5/km2(677.2/sq mi) in 2021.[18]

In 2021, the median age of Lac-Mégantic was 53.6 and 87% of the population were 15 years of age and over.[3]

Residents whose sole native language wasFrenchnumbered 5,705 (98%), while those with onlyEnglishas their first language were 60 (1%), 40 people (0.7%) had another language as their mother tongue and 20 people (0.3%) counted both French and English as their first language.

Government

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Municipal

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The mayor of Lac-Mégantic is Jean-Guy Cloutier, who was elected in a special election in 2015 to succeed retiring mayorColette Roy-Laroche.[19]Due to the rail disaster, the provincial government of Quebec had delayed the municipal election in Lac-Mégantic from its regular timing concurrent with the2013 municipal elections;the next election will, however, be held normally in 2017. Roy-Laroche, a former schoolmaster, was nicknamed "the granite lady" (French:la dame de granit) for her handling of the derailment and its aftermath.[20][21]The town council is made up of councillors representing six electoral districts.[22][23]

District Name
1. Agnès Jean Cloutier
2. Fatima Jasmin Brière
3. Centre-Ville Pierre Mercier
4. Québec-Central Jean Bilodeau
5. Vieux-Nord Pierre Latulippe
6. Montignac Julie Morin

Federal and provincial

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Provincially, Lac-Mégantic is located in the provincial electoral district ofMégantic.It is represented byGhislain Bolducof theQuebec Liberal Party.

Federally, Lac-Mégantic is part of the federal riding ofMégantic—L'Érable.It is represented byLuc Bertholdof theConservative Party of Canada.

Economy

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Although the railway has declined in recent decades, Lac-Mégantic remains an important centre ofagriculture,logging,lumberandpulp and paper.Sonae Indústria's local subsidiary, Tafisa Canada, operates a 65,000 square feet (6,000 m2)particleboardfactory in the town.[6][24][25]Other major local employers include furniture manufacturer Bestar[26]and forestry company Industries Manufacturières Mégantic,[27]part ofMasonite International.Granite from the region was incorporated into theNational September 11 MemorialinNew York City.[28]

Various other factories existed in the past, including a paper-printing plant; a sash-and-door factory; saw mills; and a butter, cheese, and cheese box factory.

The region's economy in its early days was propelled by thelogging industrydue to the vast swaths ofold-growth forests.Many related industries operated in the region, includinglumber(Nantais Mill), thefurnitureindustry and thepulp and paper industry.Lake Mégantic was used forlog floating,with asteamboatused to tow the logs to thesawmill.The first steamboat in the region, named the "Lena", was built by George Flint in 1881.

At the time of the industrial revolution, rural andworking classesmade up the majority of Mégantic's population. In 1907, the town had 2600 people and the daily wage for a labourer was aroundC$1 to C$1.50. The working class lived in the northern district of the city, while those in liberalprofessions,as well as store clerks and employees of financial institutions lived in the central part of the city (downtown).

The first bank branch in the town was thePeople's Bank of Halifax,which opened in December 1893. Its first manager was a Mr. Aitkens fromCookshire.The bank was acquired byBank of Montrealin 1905 and a new building constructed that same year.[29]The branch closed in 2001 and was sold toBanque Nationale;[30][31]the 5193 Frontenac Street building later housed legal aid offices. Only a broken, charred shell remained after the 2013Lac-Mégantic derailmentburned much of the historic downtown[32]but some legal records secured in the historic bank's vault survived the fire.[33]TheEastern Townships Bank,established inSherbrookein 1859, opened a Mégantic office in 1904 and acquired its own building at Frontenac and Thibodeau in 1910. That bank was acquired by theCanadian Bank of Commercein 1912; the local branch with its distinctive architectural columns closed during theGreat Depressionin 1935.[34]

Media

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A weekly newspaper,L'Écho de Frontenac,is published in the town[35]and one radio station,CJIT-FM106.7, operates from a local studio.

Tourism

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The region has increased its reliance on tourism, a mainstay since thepassenger railera, attracting people from acrossQuebecand theNortheastern United States.

Lac-Mégantic profits from its proximity to two major provincial parks,Frontenac National ParkonLac Saint-FrançoisandMont-Mégantic National ParknearNotre-Dame-des-Bois.Mont-Mégantic Park is home of the ASTROlab astronomy museum and theMont Mégantic Observatory,a mountaintop observatory anddark-sky preserve.

The Lac-Mégantic lakeshore is host to the Complexe Baie des Sables beachfront park, the annual Traversée internationale du lac Mégantic swim meet in August and the Grand tour du lac Mégantic cycle tour each June.

The most popular activities for tourists are hunting and fishing.

Education

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Lac Mégantic is home to a junior college,Centre d’études collégiales de Lac-Mégantic,which is affiliated with theCégep Beauce-Appalaches.The college offers both technical and pre-university training programs including anastrophysicsprogram, which is the only one of its kind in Quebec. It also has a vocational training centre, the Centre de formation professionnelle Le Granit.

The town, in the former Commission scolaire des Hauts-Cantons (nowCentre de services scolaire des Hauts-Cantons[fr]), has one secondary school, Polyvalente Montignac, and two elementary schools, École Notre-Dame-de-Fatima and École Sacré-Cœur.[36]

The English language school board for the town isEastern Townships School Board.[37]

Lac-Mégantic is the birthplace of authorNelly Arcan;a new municipal library opened May 5, 2014 bears her name.[38]The library's site (a former Canadelle undergarment factory at 4409, rue Dollard) was chosen in 2010 to accommodate expansion of a collection then over 45,000 volumes.[39]As the original collection was destroyed by fire in 2013, a hundred thousand books were donated by local groups, universities, authors and publishers across Québec.[40][41]

Infrastructure

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The Centre de santé et services sociaux du Granit, on Laval Street is the community's main health facility.

Lac Mégantic is crossed byQuebec Route 161andQuebec Route 204.

Canadian Pacific Railway(CP) built atranscontinental railwayline linkingMontrealwith theAtlantic Oceanport ofSaint John,New Brunswick.The division from Lac-Mégantic toMattawamkeag, Maine,was operated by CP subsidiaryInternational Railway of Maineand opened in 1889. TheAtlanticpassenger train was operated by CP and laterVia Railover this line, but was eliminated in December 1994.

In 1988, CP consolidated its Lac-Mégantic-Saint John line into theCanadian Atlantic Railway.In December 1994, the line was sold toCanadian American Railroad(part ofIron Road Railways). After that company's 2003 bankruptcy, theMontreal, Maine and Atlantic Railwayprovided freight service until the line in both directions was severed by theLac-Mégantic derailmentin 2013. MM&A claimedbankruptcy protectionin August 2013; its assets were sold toFortress Investment Groupas theCentral Maine and Quebec Railwayin 2014.

In September 1895, theQuebec Central Railwaycompleted a 59.2 miles (95.3 km) branch line from the CP main line at Lac-Mégantic north toTring Junction,a point from which onward connections were available toLévis.This line was abandoned in the 1980s and has been removed.

The town was also home to the now-decommissionedMegantic Airport;an industrial park and large sawmill occupy the former airfield.

A municipal sports centre, which opened in 2011, offers a wide range of sporting and educational activities, including aswimming pooland anarena.[42]

Lac-Mégantic is home to the Centre de santé et service sociaux (CSSS) du Granit, which is located on Laval Street. The facility serves the local community and contains a hospital centre foracute carewith 35 beds, and along-term carecentre with 44 beds.[43]

Sister cities

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References

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  1. ^"Banque de noms de lieux du Québec:Reference number 33218 ".toponymie.gouv.qc.ca(in French).Commission de toponymie du Québec.
  2. ^ab"Répertoire des municipalités:Geographic code 30030 ".www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca(in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation.
  3. ^abc"Lac-Mégantic, Quebec (Code 2430030) Census Profile".2021 census.Government of Canada -Statistics Canada.
  4. ^Territorial Division Act.Revised Statutes of QuebecD-11.
  5. ^ab"Historique"(in French). Ville de Lac-Mégantic. Archived fromthe originalon 11 July 2013.Retrieved8 July2013.
  6. ^abcdefghi"Portrait of a decimated town: A brief history of Lac-Mégantic".The Canadian Press.7 July 2013.Retrieved8 July2013.
  7. ^"Joseph-Eugene, the inventive Parish Priest".ASSOCIATION of the CHOQUET-TES of America Inc.Retrieved12 July2013.
  8. ^"Press Release: Derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec"(PDF).Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway. July 6, 2013. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on July 8, 2013.RetrievedJuly 6,2013.
  9. ^ab"Explosions à Lac-Mégantic: un mort confirmé"(in French).Radio-Canada.La Presse Canadienne. July 6, 2013.RetrievedJuly 6,2013.
  10. ^"Train company averages two crashes per year; As confirmed deaths reach 16 in the small Canadian town, investigators look into whether a fire an hour before the explosions may have played a role".Portland Press Herald.July 9, 2013.RetrievedJuly 9,2013.
  11. ^"Insight: How a train ran away and devastated a Canadian town".Reuters.July 8, 2013.RetrievedJuly 9,2013.
  12. ^"Lac-Mégantic: on confirme la mort d'une personne".106,9 Mauricie(in French). 98.5 FM. July 6, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon October 30, 2014.RetrievedJuly 6,2013.
  13. ^"Lac-Mégantic toll rises to 42".July 18, 2013.RetrievedJuly 19,2013.
  14. ^"Canada train derailment: Death toll at 50; Lac-Megantic residents jeer rail CEO".Associated Press. July 11, 2013.RetrievedJuly 11,2013.
  15. ^Sterling, Joe."Railroad CEO heckled in ravaged Quebec town".CNN.CNN.Retrieved11 July2013.
  16. ^"Death toll hits 15 in Lac-Mégantic".
  17. ^"Une dernière marche au centre-ville pour les résidents de Lac-Mégantic".
  18. ^"Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec".Statistics Canada.February 9, 2022.RetrievedAugust 29,2022.
  19. ^"Jean-Guy Cloutier elected mayor of Lac-Mégantic succeeding Colette Roy-Laroche".Montreal Gazette,November 2, 2015.
  20. ^Dougherty, Kevin (2013-07-12)."Lac-Mégantic:" We are all together "Granite Lady says".Montréal Gazette. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-08-22.Retrieved2013-08-19.
  21. ^"Lac-Mégantic mayor praised for efforts to unite town after devastating rail disaster".National Post. 2013-07-25.Retrieved2013-08-19.
  22. ^"Membres du conseil".Conseil municipal.Ville Lac-Mégantic. Archived fromthe originalon 13 July 2013.Retrieved9 July2013.
  23. ^"Élection et districts électoraux".Conseil municipal.Ville Lac-Mégantic. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-07-12.Retrieved2013-07-09.
  24. ^"Tafisa Canada".Retrieved2013-07-13.
  25. ^"Tafisa Canada-Our History".Tafisa Canada.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-21.Retrieved15 March2012.
  26. ^"Bestar Inc. - How To Reach Us And Where We Are Located".Bestar.ca.Retrieved2013-07-28.
  27. ^"Entreprise".IMM. 2011-09-22.Retrieved2013-07-28.
  28. ^"Nouvelles de l'entreprise".A. Lacroix Granit.Retrieved2013-07-28.
  29. ^"Rue Principale et Banque de Montréal, Lac-Mégantic, QC, vers 1910".McCord Museum (Montréal). 1910.Retrieved2013-07-13.
  30. ^"Mémoires collectives".Écho de Frontenac, hebdo de la région de Lac-Mégantic. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-07-18.Retrieved2013-07-13.
  31. ^"50 000 $ aux sinistrés de Lac-Mégantic".l'Hebdo du St-Maurice. 2013-07-08.Retrieved2013-07-13.
  32. ^"Gallery: Dramatic photos from the 'red zone' in Lac-Megantic".Globalnews.ca. 2013-07-09.Retrieved2013-07-19.
  33. ^"Le bureau d'aide juridique de l'Estrie à Lac-Mégantic récupère presque tous ses dossiers".Radio-Canada. 2013-07-19.Retrieved2013-07-28.
  34. ^"La nouvelle municipale"(PDF).Lac-Mégantic (municipality). October 2009. pp. 4–5. Archived fromthe original(municipal newsletter)on 2013-07-18.Retrieved2013-07-13.
  35. ^"Lac Megantic disaster can't stop newspaper from publishing".Toronto Star. 2013-07-13.Retrieved2013-07-13.
  36. ^"Etablissements"(in French). Centre de services scolaire des Hauts-Cantons.Retrieved2023-02-18.
  37. ^"PROPOSAL TO DIVIDE THE TERRITORY INTO ELECTORAL WARDS"(PDF).Eastern Townships School Board.p. 2/3.Retrieved2023-02-18.
  38. ^"Publication - Médiathèque municipale - Ville Lac-Mégantic".Archived fromthe originalon 2014-04-25.Retrieved2014-04-22.
  39. ^Caroline d'Astous (2013-07-08)."Patrimoine détruit à Lac-Mégantic: une page d'histoire partie en fumée"(in French). La Presse (Montréal).Retrieved2013-07-08.
  40. ^"Des livres pour relancer la collection de la bibliothèque de Lac-Mégantic"(in French). Radio-Canada. 2013-07-18.Retrieved2013-07-18.
  41. ^"Lac-Mégantic library may reopen in 2014 thanks to donations".CBC Montréal.Retrieved2013-12-29.
  42. ^"Début des activités libres au centre sportif"(in French). Ville de Lac-Mégantic. 2013-08-11. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-08-04.Retrieved2013-08-19.
  43. ^CSSS du Granit, ed. (2012)."Rapport annuel de gestion 2011-2012"(PDF).Lac-Mégantic, Québec: Centre de santé et de services sociaux du Granit. p. 8. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2014-01-09.Retrieved2013-07-08.
  44. ^"Jumelage"(in French). City Hall, Dourdan, France. Archived fromthe originalon 2018-01-19.Retrieved2013-07-27.
  45. ^"Villes jumelées".Ville de Lac-Mégantic. Archived fromthe originalon 11 July 2013.Retrieved6 July2013.
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