Wikipedia

Saint-Alban, Quebec

Saint-Alban (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃t‿albɑ̃]) is a municipality located in Portneuf RCM, Capitale-Nationale region, Quebec, Canada.[4][7]

Saint-Alban
Municipality
Sainte-Anne River, Saint-Alban Dam,[1] from François-Naud Bridge[2][3]
Sainte-Anne River, Saint-Alban Dam,[1] from François-Naud Bridge[2][3]
Location within Portneuf RCM
Location within Portneuf RCM
Saint-Alban is located in Central Quebec
Saint-Alban
Saint-Alban
Location in central Quebec
Coordinates: 46°43′05″N 72°04′39″W / 46.71805°N 72.07761°W / 46.71805; -72.07761[4]
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionCapitale-Nationale
RCMPortneuf
Settled1830
ConstitutedDecember 31, 1991
Government
[5]
 • MayorDeny Lépine
 • Federal ridingPortneuf—Jacques-Cartier
 • Prov. ridingPortneuf
Area
[5][6]
 • Total
159.74 km2 (61.68 sq mi)
 • Land148.47 km2 (57.32 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[6]
 • Total
1,196
 • Density8.1/km2 (21/sq mi)
 • Pop (2016-21)
Decrease 0.2%
 • Dwellings
764
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Postal code(s)
G0A 3B0
Area codes367, 418, 581
Highways R-354
Websitest-alban.qc.ca Edit this at Wikidata (in French)

The municipality is crossed in its southern part by the Sainte-Anne River (Les Chenaux).

Geography

edit

With a total area of 159.58 km2, the municipality of Saint-Alban occupies third place in the territory of the RCM of Portneuf.[7]

The presence of Long Lake (Saint-Alban), Caribou, Noir, Trout, Anguille lakes and part of Clair lake (Sainte-Christine-d'Auvergne) are popular with vacationers and fishermen. In addition of Sainte-Anne River and several secondary watercourses, such as the Noire River (Sainte-Anne River tributary) and Blanche River (Saint-Casimir), bypass or cross the dairy farms, fields and forests.[4][8]

In the Sainte-Anne River gorges sector of the Portneuf Regional Natural Park, the dominant forest species are:[9]

  • Thuja occidentalis Linné. — Thuya occidental. — Cèdre, Balai. — (White cedar).
  • Populus tremuloides Michaux. — Peuplier faux-tremble. — Tremble. — (Aspen).
  • Abies balsamea (Linné) Miller. — Sapin baumier. — Sapin. — (Balsam fir).
  • Picea glauca (Moench) Voss. — Épicéa glauque. — Épinette blanche. — (White spruce).

History

edit

More or less from 1830 to 1840, the abundance of forests and the presence of lakes, such as Clair, Long and Montauban, the Noire and Blanche rivers, and numerous streams, attracted the first settlers to the territory south and north of the Sainte-Anne River.

The new arrivals came from Lorette and the neighboring parishes of Deschambault, Grondines and Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade. Oral tradition attributes the founding of Saint-Alban, in 1829 or 1930, to François Naud from Deschambault.[3] The first colonized sector was located in the Noire River range. The bridge over the Sainte-Anne River facilitated the development of the northern sector. This bridge was located approximately at the current location of the François-Naud bridge.[10][3]

Francois Naud - In 1829, this young man from the second row of Deschambault would be the first to pass on the lands located north of the Sainte-Anne River after felling a long spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss.) tree, which fell across the river, and which served as a bridge to cross to the other side. In 1830, three or four other spruces were thrown next to the first; they were covered with pieces of logs and this was the first bridge.[2][3]

 
Catholic church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus parish, Principale street[11]

The first settlers began clearing the area around 1830. In 1851, a mill was built that led to the development of the village. In 1856, the parish was founded, followed by the post office in 1857, and the parish municipality in 1860. Its official full name was Saint-Alban-d'Alton,[12] and named after Saint Alban, the first martyr in Britain in the third century. Alton refers to its location in the geographic township of Alton, formed in 1841, and named after a town in Hampshire, England.[4]

In January 1918, the village centre separated from the parish municipality and was incorporated as the Village Municipality of Saint-Alban. In 1991, the parish and village municipalities merged again to form the new Municipality of Saint-Alban.[4]

1894 Landslide

edit

On 27 April 1894, Canada's largest known landslide occurred in Saint-Alban.[13] Displacing 185 million cubic metres (242 million cubic yards) of rock and dirt, it made a 40-metre (130 ft) deep mark that covered 4.6 million square metres (1,100 acres).[14]

 
Noire River (Rivière Noire), Saint-Alban landslide 1894[15][8]

Demographics

edit
Historical census populations – Saint-Alban Municipality
YearPop.±%
1991 1,176—    
1996 1,159−1.4%
2001 1,170+0.9%
2006 1,138−2.7%
YearPop.±%
2011 1,225+7.6%
2016 1,198−2.2%
2021 1,196−0.2%
Source: Statistics Canada[6][16]

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents (2021): 582 (total dwellings: 776)[6]

Mother tongue (2021):[6]

  • English as first language: 0.4%
  • French as first language: 98.7%
  • English and French as first language: 0.4%
  • Other as first language: 0.8%
Historical census populations – Saint-Alban Parish
YearPop.±%
1921 943—    
1931 938−0.5%
1941 861−8.2%
1951 870+1.0%
1956 832−4.4%
1961 777−6.6%
YearPop.±%
1966 675−13.1%
1971 599−11.3%
1976 544−9.2%
1981 583+7.2%
1986 543−6.9%
1991 555+2.2%
Source: Statistics Canada[17]
Historical census populations – Saint-Alban Village
YearPop.±%
1921 486—    
1931 522+7.4%
1941 616+18.0%
1951 719+16.7%
1956 815+13.4%
1961 786−3.6%
YearPop.±%
1966 815+3.7%
1971 770−5.5%
1976 726−5.7%
1981 673−7.3%
1986 652−3.1%
1991 621−4.8%
Source: Statistics Canada[17]

Local government

edit

List of former mayors since formation of current municipality:

  • Deny Lépine (...–2005)
  • Lynn Audet (2005–2013)
  • Bernard Naud (2013–2017)
  • Deny Lépine (2017–present)

See Also

edit

Further reading

edit
  • Mariages de St-Alban (comté Portneuf) 1856-1900 (in French), compiled by Benoit Pontbriand, agronomist, 1965, 63 pages.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Saint-Alban Dam, toponymy". Gouvernement of Quebec (in French). Commission de Toponymy Quebec. 6 June 1973. Retrieved 13 November 2024. The structure, 26.5 m high and 416 m long, has a retention capacity of 1.2 million cubic meters of water.
  2. ^ a b "François-Naud Bridge, toponymy". Gouvernement of Quebec (in French). Commission de Toponymy Quebec. 10 October 1996. Retrieved 26 November 2024. François Naud settled in 1829 on land north of the Sainte-Anne River. In 1830, a first wooden bridge was erected there.
  3. ^ a b c d "François Naud House" (PDF) (in French). Portneuf RCM - Heritage database. 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2024. According to oral tradition, François Naud is the pioneer and founder of the parish of Saint-Alban
  4. ^ a b c d e "Saint-Alban, toponymy". Gouvernement of Quebec (in French). Commission de Toponymy Quebec. 24 April 1992. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Répertoire des municipalités: Geographic code 34097". www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Saint-Alban, Quebec (Code 2434097) Census Profile". 2021 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
  7. ^ a b "Saint-Alban, odonymy" (PDF) (in French). March 2019. pp. 1 of 4. Retrieved 10 November 2024. Downstream of the dam hydroelectric power station of Saint-Alban, a canyon formed by the Sainte-Anne River constitutes a remarkable natural phenomenon.
  8. ^ a b Bitzakidis, Stéfanos; S. Gagné; D. Genois; C. Paradis (April 2003). "Hydrological and multi-resource portrait of the Sainte-Anne River watershed" (PDF) (in French). CAPSA - Corporation d'aménagement et de protection de la Sainte-Anne. pp. 19 of 237. Retrieved 5 November 2024. The river became larger and shallower, and the enormous amount of soil carried away (equivalent to natural contributions over a period of 5,000 years) began to settle 4 km upstream from the mouth to the St. Lawrence River.
  9. ^ "Hiking trails table, map" (PDF) (in French). Portneuf Regional Natural Park. 7 April 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  10. ^ Paul Hinse. "Saint-Alban - Inventory of Portneuvois built heritage" (PDF) (in French). pp. 50, 51, 52, 53 of 248. Retrieved 25 November 2024. Many lakes make up the north of the municipality, the most of which imposing are Lake Clair, Lake Long and Lake Montauban. The Black River and the White River, two narrow and winding waterways, as well as numerous streams, also cross Saint-Alban
  11. ^ Mélodie Couture-Montmeny (2024). "Committee meeting report the future of the church" (in French). Retrieved 25 November 2024. The factory is experiencing difficulties with the maintenance and heating of the church of Saint-Alban, its future and its conservation are therefore threatened.
  12. ^ "Church of Saint-Alban". Heritage cultural of Quebec (in French). Quebec Religious Heritage Council. 2003. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  13. ^ "History of Saint-Alban". Saint Alban (in French). City of Saint Alban. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  14. ^ "Landslides". Get Prepared. Public Safety Canada. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  15. ^ J. W. Laverdière, Abbé (1936). "Annual report of the Quebec Bureau of Mines" (PDF). Gouvernement of Quebec. Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests. p. 33. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Saint-Alban, Quebec (Code 2434097) Census Profile". 2011 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. 2012. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
  17. ^ a b "1971 Census of Canada - Population Census Subdivisions (Historical)". Catalogue 92-702 Vol I, Part 1 (Bulletin 1.1-2). Statistics Canada: 76, 139. July 1973.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Saint-Alban,_Quebec&oldid=1261768228"