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 Les Chenaux RCM, Mauricie region, Quebec, Canada. ^[2]

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

History

Sacré-Cœur-de-Jésus Parish Church, Place de l'Église (Church square)

Saint-Casimir was founded in 1836 by people who came from Ste-Anne-de-la-Pérade following to the east along the Sainte-Anne. Alain Grandbois (1900 – 1975) was born in Saint-Casimir. ^[2]

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. ^[6]

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. ^[7]

The church, and the town, is named after Saint Casimir, a patron saint of Poland, Lithuania, and youth. ^[2]

Floods and ice breakups

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 breakups.

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 flood marker bathes in the waters of the rivers combined, these markers remind us of the power of the blows 'water. From memory: When the red line is no longer visible, there is water in the basements! ^[8]

• Saint-Casimir, rivers
• 
  Sainte-Anne River, Rang du Rapide Sud
• 
  Sainte Anne River, sedimentary rocks, Trenton Group limestones, rock faces, ice formations
• 
  Sainte-Anne River, sedimentary rocks, Trenton Group limestones, rock faces
• 
  Tributary of the Sainte-Anne River at its exit from the cave of Trou du diable, ^[9] a few meters from its mouth

Geography

Upstream entrance to the cave of the Trou du Diable (Devil's Hole)

Two provincial numbered roads go through St-Casimir: Route 354 (east-west - from Ste-Anne de la Pérade to St-Raymond) and Route 363 (south-north - from Deschambault to Lac-aux-Sables). Both roads lead to Autoroute 40, the Montreal-Québec City link on the north shore.

Five rivers run in Saint-Casimir: Sainte-Anne, Niagarette, Petite Niagarette, Blanche and Noire.

Saint-Casimir is also the home to a cavern, the "Trou du Diable" ("Devil's Hole"). It is the second-longest cave in Québec, at 980 metres (3,220 ft). It was formed by the former tributary of the Sainte-Anne River, which left behind a stream. Many tourists pass through it every summer. ^{[10] [11]}

• Saint-Casimir, built heritage
• 
  Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish Cemetery and Church ^{[12] [2]}
• 
  Private residence, Sacré-Cœur-de-Jésus Parish Church, Sainte-Anne River, Bridge 06073, steel lower deck structure, ^{[13] [14]} Roads 354 & 363
• 
  Rue Tessier (Quebec Road 354), bridge p 16132, ^[15] on Niagarette River
• 
  Aerial view

• Saint-Casimir, Agricultural zones
• 
  Boulevard de la Montagne, Roads 354 & 363
• 
  Roads 354 & 363 (Route des Grondines)

Demographics

Population trend: ^[16]

• 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. "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
6. Genois, Gaétan. "Page of history: the flood in Saint-Casimir, August 10, 1973". Le Courrier de Portneuf (in Canadian French). Retrieved 13 September 2023.
7. "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.
8. 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.
9. "Grotte le Trou du Diable". Parc naturel régional de Portneuf (in French). Société québécoise de spéléologie. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
10. Paul Hinse. "Inventory of Portneuvois' built heritage - Saint-Casimir - John William Hopkins" (PDF) (in French). pp. 65 on 248. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
11. "Saint-Casimir, odonymie" (PDF) (in French). Saint-Casimir. 2019. p. 5. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
12. "Virtual tour, church of St_Casimir" (in French). Portneuf virtual. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
13. "Inventory and inspection of structures". Quebec Gouvernement. Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
14. "Fermeture préventive du pont de la route 354 à Saint-Casimir" (in French). Courrier de Portneuf. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
15. "Inventory and inspection of structures". Quebec Gouvernement. Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
16. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census

External links

• 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)
• Cultural Rendez-vous of St-Casimir (in French)
• Auberge du Couvent (in French)
• Trou du Diable (Devil's Hole) (in French)