Saint-Casimir, Quebec

Saint-Casimir
Municipality
Confluence of the Sainte-Anne and Noire rivers, Park of the statue of the Virgin, tip of Grandbois island [1]
Location within Portneuf RCM.
Saint-Casimir Location in central Quebec.
Coordinates: 46°39′N72°08′W / 46.650°N 72.133°W / 46.650; -72.133 [2]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Capitale-Nationale
RCM	Portneuf
Constituted	August 21, 2000
Government [3]
• Mayor	Dominic Tessier Perry
•  Federal riding	Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier
•  Prov. riding	Portneuf
Area
• Total	68.10 km2 (26.29 sq mi)
• Land	66.75 km2 (25.77 sq mi)
Elevation	27.5 m (90.2 ft)
Population  (2011) [4]
• Total	1,500
• Density	22.5/km2 (58/sq mi)
• Pop 2006-2011	1.8%
• Dwellings	736
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	G0A 3L0
Area code(s)	418 and 581
Highways	R-354 R-363
Website	www.saint-casimir.com

Saint-Casimir is a municipality located in Portneuf RCM, Capitale-Nationale region, Quebec, Canada. ^[2]

It is bathed by Sainte-Anne (Les Chenaux), Blanche (Saint-Casimir), Noire (Sainte-Anne River tributary) and Niagarette rivers.

Historical notes

St. Casimir postcard, circa 1950, archives of P.E. Duplain [Circa 1900-1973) photographer

First named Rapide-de-la-Rivière-Sainte-Anne, because of the numerous rapids of the river (around 1835), the name Saint-Casimir pays tribute to Joseph-Casimir Dury or Duret, notary of Sainte-Anne -de-la-Pérade, who provided a large sum of money to build, in 1898 and 1899, the Catholic church of the parish Sacred Heart of Jesus. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

The pioneers of Saint-Casimir arrived around 1721, to exploit the forest riches.
At the beginning of the 19th century, new settlers came from Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade and Grondines.
The post office opened in 1852. ^[2]

Floods and ice jam

At the Park of the statue of the Virgin, built in 1972, on the boat-shaped structure at the tip of Grandbois Island, ^[1] a high water mark bathes in the waters of the rivers combined, these markers remind us of the power of the blows water. From memory: When the dark line is no longer visible, there is water in the basements! ^{[9] [10]}

The Sainte-Anne, Noire and Niagarette rivers cross the heart of Saint-Casimir. The village has a rich history of struggles against the overflowing of these rivers. On the banks, the built heritage bears witness to coexistence with floods and ice jam.

In the summer of 1973, a wave on the Niagarette River devastated a small area, where it joins the Sainte-Anne River. A few houses were destroyed by the powerful water wave, due to strong rain, and debris that blocked the small river for a few hours. ^[11]

Saint-Casimir Church

Monumental and grandiloquent, the catholique Saint-Casimir Church ^[7] occupies a central position in the village. It faces the iron bridge that spans the Sainte-Anne River, clearly visible from both banks.

Built in 1898 by the architect Joseph-Georges Bussières, the church is located in an institutional complex composed of the former presbytery, the former convent and the former parish hall. The impeccable state of authenticity of the main building gives it an exceptional heritage value. ^{[6] [12]}

Trou du Diable (Devil's Hole)

The Trou du Diable, ^[13] the second largest cave in Quebec, with a little over a kilometer of underground galleries, is located northeast of the village of Saint-Casimir, in the Portneuf Regional Natural Park. ^{[14] [15] [16]}

From mid-May to the beginning of December, the Portneuf Regional Natural Park offers two routes: discovery and educational visits, for a fee.
The tourist route, lasting 1h30, is intended to be an introduction to caving accessible to all.
The adventure course, lasting 3 hours, is more difficult to access and physically demanding. The Jean Lamarre section is done by crawling in a wet and muddy space, under a very low ceiling, to end on all fours parts with water up to your neck. The adventure provides a wave of emotions and a good swim. Humidity 100%. ^[17]

Human interest

On the morning of 22 March 1997, five members of the Order of the Solar Temple died in a mass suicide in Saint-Casimir. A small house exploded into flames, leaving behind five charred bodies for the police to pull from the rubble. Three teenagers, the children of one of the couples who died in the fire, were discovered in a shed behind the house, alive but heavily drugged. ^[18]

Demographics

Population trend: ^[19]

• Population in 2011: 1500 (2006 to 2011 population change: -1.8%)
• Population in 2006: 1528
• Population in 2001: 1582
• Population total in 1996: 1783
  • Saint-Casimir (municipality): 1347
  • Saint-Casimir (parish): 436
• Population in 1991:
  • Saint-Casimir (municipality): 1331
  • Saint-Casimir (parish): 430

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 670 (total dwellings: 736)

Mother tongue:

• English as first language: 0%
• French as first language: 99%
• English and French as first language: 0%
• Other as first language: 1%

See also

• Portneuf Regional Natural Park

References

1. "Grandbois island, toponymy". Gouvernement of Quebec (in French). Commission de Toponymy Quebec. 18 December 1979. Retrieved 18 November 2024. The origin of this name and, if applicable, its meaning have not yet been determined. The Toponymy Commission invites anyone with information on any of these aspects to contribute.
2. "Saint-Casimir, toponymy". Gouvernement of Quebec (in French). Commission de Toponymy Quebec. 24 August 2000. Retrieved 18 November 2024. The main local attraction is a vast underground cave, colloquially called Trou du Diable, the second largest in Quebec, located on the south bank of the Sainte-Anne, 3 km east of the village. Saint-Casimir remains a dynamic industrial and commercial center.
3. Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire - Répertoire des municipalités: Saint-Casimir
4. "Saint-Casimir, Quebec (Code 2434078) Census Profile". 2011 census . Government of Canada - Statistics Canada.
5. "Paul-Émile Duplain Fund [Circa 1900-1973), photographer". Gouvernement of Quebec (in French). Library and National Archives of Quebec. 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024. This documentary corpus illustrates regional life from various aspects, including different localities, industrial and commercial life, popular, sporting, natural or religious events, groups and associations as well as anniversaries and portraits.
6. "Church of Saint-Casimir, heritage database" (PDF) (in French). Portneuf RCM. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2024. The church occupies a central position in the village. It can be seen from afar, from both banks of the Sainte-Anne River. When we enters Saint-Casimir by the iron bridge, the church appears at the end, monumental and grandiose.
7. "Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish (Portneuf)" (in French). Catholic Church of Quebec. 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024. 110, place De l'Église Saint-Casimir (QC) G0A 3L0
8. "Presbytery of Saint-Casimir, heritage database" (PDF). Portneuf RCM. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2024. ... presbytery, it occupies a place of choice in the village and recalls the importance of the Catholic religion in Quebec at the end of the 19th century
9. Emmanuelle Bouchard-Bastien (2023). "Amphibian spaces, power and memory: the fluctuations of the Sainte-Anne River" (PDF) (in French). Laval University. pp. 22, 247 of 435. The river is the purpose of a complex hydrological dynamic, where water circulates through territories shaped by geology, climate and human activities.
10. Denis Gosselin; Raymond Perrier (July 2001). "Overview of cases of heavy rain in Quebec 1869 - 1912" (PDF). Gouvernement of Canada (in French). Environnement Canada. pp. 15, 117 of 189. The rains from August 28 to 30, 1893 were of the order of 50 to 100 mm along the valley. of the Saint Lawrence
11. Genois, Gaétan. "Page of history: the flood in Saint-Casimir, August 10, 1973". Le Courrier de Portneuf (in Canadian French). Retrieved 13 September 2023.
12. Paul Hinse. "Inventory of Portneuvois' built heritage - Saint-Casimir - John William Hopkins" (PDF) (in French). pp. 65 on 248. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
13. "Devil's Hole, Toponymy". Gouvernement of Quebec (in French). Commission de Toponymy Quebec. 7 May 1981. Retrieved 21 November 2024. .. it is one of the creatures most present in the imagination throughout the world, in all or almost all cultures and has been since time immemorial.
14. "Portneuf regional natural park, a territory of more than 70 km2" (in French). Parc naturel régional de Portneuf. 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2024. Our activities take place mainly in Saint-Alban, Saint-Ubalde and Saint-Casimir and a portion of Lake Montauban is located in the Municipalities of Portneuf and Rivière-à-Pierre.
15. "Saint-Casimir, odynymy and maps" (PDF) (in French). 5 June 2006. pp. 1 of 5. Retrieved 23 November 2024. To the east of the village, a cave more than 8000 years old called "Trou du Diable" is the second in importance in Quebec with a little more than a kilometer of underground galleries.
16. "The karsts of Eastern Canada" (PDF). Department of Geography, Laval University (in English and French). Quebec geography notebooks. 1958. pp. 11, 12 of 25. Retrieved 21 November 2024. It bas been deducted that some oj the most typical caves, such as the Saint-Casimir cave in Portneuj county, was jormed 3,500-4,000 years ago.
17. "Devil's Hole Cave - Adventure course" (in French). Portneuf Regional Natural Park. 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024. There is mud and sometimes very cold water. The temperature of the air and water underground is around 10°C and varies with the seasons. The relative humidity level is around 100%.
18. "La fin tragique de la secte de l'Ordre du Temple solaire" [The tragic end of the cult of the Order of the Solar Temple]. Aujourd'hui l'histoire (in Canadian French). Ici Radio-Canada Première . Retrieved 13 September 2023.
19. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census

External links

• Library and National Archives of Quebec (BAnQ), Fonds G.-Robert Tessier (1926_2015), serious amateur historian of Saint-Casimir (in French)
• Saint-Casimir History and Genealogy Society (SHGSC) 2023 (in French)
• Government of Canada 1891, Summary report of the Geological Survey Dept, for Saint-Alban and Saint-Casimir, see p 53 of 62.
• Eric W. Morse 1968, Fur Trade Canoe Routes of Canada /Then and Now , pp 121
• Excursion to the Devil's Hole Quebec in Photos, description and images (in French)
• Road maps of the MRC of Portneuf , 2017
• Municipalities of the MRC of Portneuf , 2017, maps
• Gaétan Genois 2023, Page of history: the flood in Saint-Casimir, August 10, 1973 , Courrier de Portneuf, 10 August 2023 (in French)
• St. Casimir's Family and Seniors Policy, Collection BAnQ, September 9, 2013 (in French)
• Photos Saint-Casimir St-Casimir Photo Gallery (in French)
• Mathieu Hardy 20 December 2023, Saint-Casimir also hit by a violent burst of water Courrier de Portneuf (in French)
• Cultural Rendez-vous of St-Casimir (in French)
• Auberge du Couvent (in French)