Gentilly , formerly known as "Saint-Édouard-de-Gentilly" is a village now part of Bécancour,

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 ...

, Canada. It is one of the major population centres within Bécancour's extensive territory with 1673 inhabitants being counted in Gentilly during the last population census in 2016. The village is home to a traditionally French-speaking population and is hosts the famous yearly Potirothon. While Gentilly is a small town, it has all the essential services and a warm/welcoming community. The Parc Regional de la Rivière Gentilly is close to town and offers hiking, camping, mountain biking and kayaking. It is also in proximity to the Parc Industriel de Bécancour where most industries are involved in manufacturing. Among these is the

Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station (''Centrale nucléaire de Gentilly'' in French) is a former nuclear power station located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in Bécancour, Quebec, 100 km north east of Montreal. The site conta ...

, decommissioned in 2012.

History

In 1647 the

Company of New France The Company of One Hundred Associates (French: formally the Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France, or colloquially the Compagnie des Cent-Associés or Compagnie du Canada), or Company of New France, was a French trading and colonization company cha ...

, or Company of One Hundred Associates (Compagnie des Cent-Associés) as it was more commonly known, sold two

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

s to Nicolas Marsolet and Pierre Lefebvre on the shores of the Saint-Lawrence River and the Gentilly River. In 1668 Pierre Lefebvre gave his

title to his son-in-law Félix Thunès (Sieur Dufresne) who held it until 1669 when it was to Michel Pelletier (Sieur de Laprade). The same year Pelletier got Intendant Bouterouse to grant him a parcel of land bordering Nicolas Marsolet's fief. In 1671 Marsolet also sold his fief to Michel Pelletier, who now owned a parcel of land along about of coastline on the Saint Lawrence and reached inland. This was the land on which Gentilly would be established. In 1683, these three land concessions gained the status "seigneurie des Poissons". The Seigneurie de Gentilly was surveyed in March of 1735, and the territory then became a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

in 1784. The town was named ''Saint-Édouard-de-Gentilly'' after

Gentilly, Val-de-Marne Gentilly () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is the closest commune to Paris, located from the city center. Name The name Gentilly was recorded for the first time in the 6th century as ''Gentilly'', a royal estate of so ...

, in France. On 10 April 1900, the parish of Saint-Édouard-de-Gentilly was broken up, and the town became an independent village, taking on the shorter name of Gentilly. On 17 October 1965 Gentilly was merged into the municipality of Bécancour and has been part of it since.

Local Indigenous Community

The lands on which Gentilly stands is located within the traditional

unceded territory Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...

of the Abénakis peoples.

Notable people

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve (; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian filmmaker. He is a four-time recipient of the Canadian Screen Award (formerly Genie Award) for Best Direction, winning for '' Maelström'' in 2001, '' Polytechnique'' in 2009, ''Incendies ...

- ''French-Canadian Film Director and Writer.''

Lucien Dubois Lucien Dubois (30 April 1893 – 8 November 1948) was a Liberal party and Independent Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in Gentilly, Quebec and became a farmer by career. Dubois was educated at Arthabaska Colle ...

(1893–1948) - ''

Liberal party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and

Independent Liberal Independent Liberal is a description allowed in politics to denote party affiliation. It is used to designate a politician as a liberal, yet independent of the official Liberal Party of a country. Those parties were the Liberal Party of Canada, ...

member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

, Author of "The History of Gentilly (1935)".'' Joseph Gérard André Lavigne (1921-___) - ''WWII Veteran, Author of " La Légende du Vieux Phare de Gentilly (2006)".'' Pepe et sa Guitare - ''French-Canadian Musician.''

Céline Baril Céline Baril (born 1953) is a Canadian artist and film director. Early life Baril was born in Gentilly, Quebec. In 1982, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal. Career Her film ''24 Davids'' was ...

(born 1953) - artist and film director

Demographics

Of the resident population, 78.3% (1 310) speak only French, and 21.7% are bilingual in French and English.

References

Neighbourhoods in Bécancour {{Quebec-geo-stub