The Chemin du Roy (; French for "King's Highway" or "King's Road") is a historic road along the north shore of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. The road begins in Repentigny and extends almost eastward towards

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

, its eastern terminus. Most of the Chemin du Roy today follows along the present-day

Quebec Route 138 Route 138 is a major highway in the Canadian province of Quebec, following the entire north shore of the Saint Lawrence River past Montreal to the temporary eastern terminus in Kegashka on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The western terminus is in ...

. The modern expressway that replaces both Route 138 and the Chemin du Roy through most of its course is

Quebec Autoroute 40 Autoroute 40, officially known as Autoroute Félix-Leclerc outside Montreal and Metropolitan Autoroute/Autoroute Métropolitaine within Montreal, is an Autoroute on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in the Canadian province of Quebec. I ...

History

In 1706, the Conseil supérieur (Grand Council) of

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

decreed that a road be built to connect the houses along the north shore of the

, between

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. Work began in 1731, under the supervision of Grand Voyer (senior road surveyor) Eustache Lanouiller de Boisclerc, and was completed in 1737. Upon completion, the Chemin du Roy was wide, over long, and crossed 37 seignories. The Chemin du Roy was the longest road in existence at the time in North America north of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In 1910, the portion of the Chemin du Roy on

Montreal Island The Island of Montreal (french: Île de Montréal) is a large island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, that is the site of a number of municipalities including most of the city of Montreal and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main ...

was renamed by the District and County of Montreal as

Gouin Boulevard Gouin Boulevard (officially in french: boulevard Gouin) is the longest street on the Island of Montreal, stretching across the north side of the island from Senneville in the west to Pointe-aux-Trembles in the east, where it intersects with She ...

. It is no longer considered part of the historic route and does not feature the "Chemin du Roy" route markers that the tourist route now is signed with.

Communities

;Modern signed route * Repentigny ''(western terminus)'' * Saint-Sulpice *

L'Assomption L'Assomption () is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the L'Assomption River. It is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of L'Assomption. It is located on the outer fringes of the Montreal urban area. ...

* Lavaltrie * Lanoraie * Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier *

Berthierville Berthierville ()(also called Berthier-en-haut, and legally called Berthier before 1942) is a town located between Montreal and Trois-Rivières on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. Berthierville is the seat of D'Autray ...

* Saint-Cuthbert * Saint-Barthélemy * Maskinongé * Louiseville * Yamachiche *

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

* Champlain * Batiscan *

Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade () is a municipality in the Les Chenaux Regional County Municipality, in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada. The town is located near the mouth of the Sainte-Anne River along the ''Chemin du Roy'', ...

Deschambault-Grondines Deschambault-Grondines is a municipality of about 2100 inhabitants in the Canadian province of Quebec, located in Portneuf Regional County Municipality. The municipality was incorporated in 2002 by the merger of the formerly independent villages ...

* Portneuf *

Cap-Santé Cap-Santé is a town in the Canadian province of Quebec. It is the county seat of Portneuf Regional County Municipality and was as well the county seat of the designated Portneuf County. The name of the town means "Cape Health". Cap-Santé is ...

Donnacona Chief Donnacona (died 1539 in France) was the chief of the St. Lawrence Iroquois village of Stadacona, located at the present site of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. French explorer Jacques Cartier, concluding his second voyage to what is now Can ...

* Neuville *

Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures is a city in central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint Lawrence River, adjacent to Quebec City. The town was founded in 1691 by three families (Desroches, Racette, Couture). It was merged with Quebec City on January 1, 2002 ...

''(eastern terminus)''

References

Le Chemin du Roy (official site)

External links

Le Chemin du Roy (official site)
{{Authority control Roads in Capitale-Nationale New France Saint Lawrence River Historic trails and roads in Quebec 1737 works 1737 in transport Roads in Mauricie Roads in Lanaudière 1730s establishments in the French colonial empire