Overlooking the St. Lawrence River from the south shore, along Route 132, the municipality has just under one thousand inhabitants. Deschaillons-sur-Saint-Laurent is 55 kilometres east of Trois-Rivières and 85 kilometres west of Quebec City.
The inhabitants of this municipality are referred to as “Deschaillonnais” and “Deschaillonnaises.”
Deschaillons-sur-Saint-Laurent is located in the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Its topography is mainly flat and overlooks the river at an average height of 40 meters... hence the name Deschaillons-sur-Saint-Laurent (which translated means above the St-Lawrence River)
Geologically, its basement rocks date from the Ordovician period. It mainly comprises gray, silty and micaceous shale, containing interbeds of fine-grained sandstone, siltstone and sandy limestone.[1]
Deschaillons-sur-Saint-Laurent is located downstream of the watershed of the Rivière Du Chêne (Little Oak River). The river mouth is at the eastern limit of its borders.
Toponymy
Deschaillons owes its name to Lord Pierre de Saint-Ours,[2] who obtained from the King of France this concession located on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. Pierre de Saint-Ours was initially Lord of L’Échaillon, in the former province of Dolphiné in France, and he gave to this new lordship located in New France this derived name which is Deschaillons, to commemorate the memory of its ancestors, as well as this first seigneurial possession on French soil.
Deschaillons origins can be traced back to the seigneurial concession obtained on April 25, 1674, by the Knight Pierre de Saint-Ours.[3]Louis de Buade, Count of Frontenac, then governor of the New France, granted him in the name of the King of France two leagues (8.9 km) along the St. Lawrence River, two leagues deep in the said lands.[3]
During the first years, the Lord of Saint-Ours granted land for clearing and agricultural exploitation to around twenty settlers, some of whom had appellations still present in the village as surnames (Auger, Barabé, Beaudet, Mailhot, Tousignant...)[4].
Pierre de Saint-Ours was previously named lord of estates now located in Saint-Ours (1668) and L'Assomption (1672).[2] Everything indicates that he was more attached to these seigneuries, located close to each other, near Montreal.
The seigneury of Deschaillons remained within the descendants of the Saint-Ours until the territory was constituted as a municipality on May 12, 1835. The village was subsequently detached from the parish of Deschaillons on July 22, 1939, taking the name Deschaillons-sur-Saint-Laurent. The regrouping, on May 23, 1990, of the municipalities of Deschaillons and Deschaillons-sur-Saint-Laurent under the name of the latter, constituted a swing of the pendulum.[4]
Economy
During the first three centuries, the development of agriculture, livestock breeding, navigation and, later, the establishment of several brickworks made possible thanks to the clayey soil along the banks of the river constituted the main economic activities of Deschaillons-sur-Saint-Laurent.
Agriculture and dairy production have been important activities, although the number of farms has greatly decreased in recent decades. While the amount of territory used for farming has remained stable, it belongs to an increasingly small number of family farms.
For more than a century, brick manufacturing occupied an important place in the economy of Deschaillons. There were twenty-one brickworks[4] in 1915, which sold their production by boat on markets as far away as Quebec City. However, by the 1980s, the last factory had closed its doors.
Today, the majority of employment opportunities are in the service sector. Deschaillons has become a service hub in the sub-region, mainly in the distribution of shoes and clothing, food, veterinary services, beauty and hairdressing treatments, etc.
Due to its unusual geographical positioning (a riverside village with land majestically overlooking the St. Lawrence River), Deschaillons is a popular vacation spot that welcomes a few hundred additional residents every summer, including thanks to the abundance of seasonal chalets, a large campsite (Cap à la Roche), and a lodge/chalets estate (Le Domaine d'Eschaillons).
Attractions
Sandy Beach (one of the largest and most beautiful beaches on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, between Montreal and Quebec City)
La Roche à Mailhot
Road rest stop, maritime lighthouse and viewpoint (same location)
The legend[3] recounts that around 1810 during the construction of the main road to Deschaillons-sur-Saint-Laurent (now Route 132), a group of workers tried to move a huge rock approximately 6 feet (2 meters) high by 3 feet (1.5 meters) wide. The group decided to take their meal break and come back with horses to make their work easier. In the meantime, the giant of Deschaillons, Modeste Mailhot, who was seven feet and four inches (2.23 m) in height and weighed no less than 619 pounds (281 kilos), found himself alone with the rock and rolled it several feet out of the way. A living legend was born into the history of Deschaillons. This stone is still found along the Marie-Victorin road, 3.8 km east of the village centre, with a plaque which describes the feat which earned this colossus of Deschaillons the titles of "Giant Canadian" or "Modeste Giant". This commemorative plaque, initially made of copper, has been stolen three times over the past ten years.
Buildings
Primary school, “Métro” food market, convenience (dépanneur) store/gasoline store, cheese factory, pharmacy, veterinary clinic, municipal multi-functional centre (former church), (former) presbytery, post office, car dealership, mechanics and auto body shops, hair salons, restaurants, maritime lighthouse, savings and credit union bank, artisanal production cooperative, four (4) public charging terminals for electric vehicles (EVs), ecocentre, fire station and first responders.
Demographics
Population
1996
2001
2006
2011
2016
2021
1060
1061
1009
954
909
906
The average age of the population in 2021 was 53.1 years.
Administration
Elections are held every four years for the mayor and the six local councillors.[5]
NB: Since 2005, elections have been held simultaneously in all municipalities in the province of Quebec.
Notable people
Pamphile Le May, novelist, poet, storyteller, librarian and lawyer, lived the last years of his life in Deschaillons, from 1912 until his death on June 11, 1918. He was a native of Lotbinière.
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