Brownsburg-Chatham is a municipality in the

Laurentides The Laurentides () is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 Cens ...

region of Quebec, Canada, part of the

Argenteuil Regional County Municipality Argenteuil is a regional county municipality located in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada. Its seat is Lachute. History In 1682, Charles-Joseph d'Ailleboust was granted by Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor General of New France, a do ...

. Economic activities include agriculture, tourism and the manufacture of explosives. It is the hometown of late

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

defenceman

Gilles Lupien Joseph Leonard Gilles Lupien (April 20, 1954May 18, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played five seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Hartford Whal ...

Geography

Brownsburg-Chatham is located along the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

, just west of

Lachute Lachute () is a town in southwest Quebec, Canada, northwest of Montreal, on the Rivière du Nord, a tributary of the Ottawa River, and west of Mirabel International Airport. It is located on Autoroute 50, at the junctions of Quebec Provincial ...

, and includes the communities of Brownsburg, Cushing, Dalesville, Greece's Point, Pine Hill, and Saint-Philippe. Cushing QC 1.JPG, Cushing Greeces Point QC.JPG, Greece's Point

History

Chatham Township was established in 1799, and named after English Statesman

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...

(1708–1778). Mostly populated by rich American

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

, its post office opened in 1829 and the township municipality was formed in 1845. By the mid-19th century, there were a few hamlets including Dalesville, Brownsbury, and Starneville. In 1818, Major George Brown, born in England, was granted by the government land on the West River (''Rivière de l'Ouest''). Together with pioneers Daniel Smith and Captain A. L. Howard, he was able to breathe life into the local industry during the 1820s. George Brown built, among other achievements, a sawmill and gristmill which contributed to the economic growth of the region and led to the formation of Brownsburg village which was named after him. In 1854, the Brownsburg Post Office opened. Later in the third quarter of the 19th century, a major arms factory run by the

Dominion Cartridge Company The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

was the major local industry. In 1935, the Village Municipality of Brownsburg was officially established by separating from the Township Municipality of Chatham. On October 6, 1999, Brownsburg was rejoined with Chatham and the new Municipality of Brownsburg-Chatham was formed. On July 6, 2002, the municipality changed its statutes and became the Town of Brownsburg-Chatham.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Brownsburg-Chatham had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Local government

The city council meetings are available online since February 2, 2016. List of former mayors: * Lise Bourgault (2003–2009) * Georges Dinel (2009–2013) * Serge Riendeau (2013–2017) * Catherine Trickey (2017–2021) * Kévin Maurice (2021–present)

Education

The Commission scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord operates French-language public schools. * École primaire Bouchard and Le Centre de Tremplin *

École polyvalente Lavigne École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

The

Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board (SWLSB, french: Commission scolaire Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier, CSSWL) is a school board headquartered in Rosemère, Quebec in Greater Montreal. It officially came into existence in July 1998 when English-language sc ...

operates English-language public schools: * Laurentian Elementary School in

serves almost all areas * Grenville Elementary School in Grenville serves a small section of Chatham *

Laurentian Regional High School Laurentian Regional High School (french: École secondaire Laurentian Regional) is an English secondary school in Lachute in the region of Laurentides, Québec, Canada. It contains classes for grades seven through eleven, and is run by the Sir Wilf ...

in Lachute serves all areasLAURENTIAN REGIONAL HS ZONE
"

. Retrieved on September 4, 2017.

References

External links

Ville de Brownsburg-Chatham (French and English)
{{authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Incorporated places in Laurentides Populated places established in 1799