Nicolet, Quebec
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Nicolet () is the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality Nicolet-Yamaska () is a regional county municipality in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, Canada. The county seat is Nicolet. Subdivisions There are 16 subdivisions within the RCM: ;Cities & Towns (1) * Nicolet ;Municipalities (11) ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. The population as of the
Canada 2016 Census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial censu ...
was 8,169. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nicolet. The residents of the town pronounce the final "t" in Nicolet, but people outside of the region do not.


History

The town took its name from Jean Nicolet, a French explorer and clerk of the Company of One Hundred Associates, who explored the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
region west to
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
. Despite never having lived there, he explored the area during the seven years he lived in
Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
. The area was originally settled by the
Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...
tribe, who knew it as ''Pithigan'' or ''Pithiganek'', meaning "entrance". French colonial settlement of Nicolet area began in the late 17th century, with Pierre Monet de Moras constructing a seigneurial manor on what is now known as Moras Island. Rights to the territory of Nicolet were accorded in 1672 by Jean Talon, passing through several hands in the next thirty years. Significant land development began at the opening of the 18th century, with the construction of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
mission in 1701, a chapel in 1710, a presbytery in 1722, and a second church being raised in 1740. The first
Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...
settlers arrived in 1756, after their expulsion by the British, who had defeated the French in the Seven Years' War. During the late 18th century, the area eventually became a major centre for the Acadian diaspora. Some Acadian refugees continued south into the United States. Development continued with the construction of a third church in 1784, the first elementary school in 1801, and establishment of the Collège de Nicolet in 1803. The parish of Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Nicolet was officially opened in 1831; Nicolet's episcopal seat was established later in 1885. A fourth church was constructed in 1873, suffering the collapse of its steeple shortly thereafter. Attempts to reconstruct it failed due to the weakness of the building's structure. Construction of the second
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
began in 1897, but a part of the building collapsed in 1899. On June 21, 1906, a fire destroyed an area of the town including both cathedrals and the headquarters of the Sisters of the Assumption. Reconstruction began soon afterwards, with the new headquarters of the Sisters of the Assumption and a girls' school being inaugurated in 1908. An agricultural school was added to the Collège in 1938, and a test centre for the Canadian Armed Forces was established in 1952. On March 21, 1955, a fire gutted the downtown area of Nicolet, destroying 35 commercial buildings and displacing 75 families. A plaza in the area is named ''place du 21 mars'' ("21st of March Place") to commemorate the event. Eight months later, on November 12, 1955, a Leda clay landslide carried of earth and six buildings crashing down into the Nicolet river, killing three people, injuring six and causing $10 million in damages. The incident destroyed the trade school (established in 1887) and the recently rebuilt cathedral. The event was later the subject of a book by author
Louis Caron Louis Caron (born July 21, 1942) is a Canadians, Canadian journalist and writer from Quebec. He is most noted for his novels ''The Draft Dodger (L'Emmitouflé)'', which won the Prix Québec-Paris in 1977, ''Le canard de bois'', which was a finalist ...
entitled ''Le Bonhomme Sept-Heures.'' The riverfront road where the landslide occurred was named ''rue du 12 novembre'' ("12th of November Street") in commemoration. The present cathedral was rebuilt in 1963, and the Collège de Nicolet was converted into the École nationale de police du Québec in 1968.


Geography

Nicolet is situated at the meeting of the Saint-Lawrence and Nicolet rivers, on sandy, unstable soil, making the area prone to
landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...
s. **The main reason for the occurrence of the slide in Nicolet, Quebec is the type of soil in the area of which the slide occurred. Beneath the 8-foot thick stratified fine sand layer, was a thick stratified gray clay that extended to the depth of 35 feet and below that, was a darker clay with black mottling with a thickness of 100 feet. The clay is marine/Leda clay that is "extra sensitive" or "quick". The natural water content of the clay was above the liquid limit in some areas and above the plastic limit in others. Due to the salt concentration within marine clays, which would have crystallized as the marine water receded historically, the salt would be removed by rainfall and meltwater after winter. Glacio-marine clays and silts are common in this area due to the prior existence of the Champlain Sea, which used to occupy the St. Lawrence and Ottawa valleys post-glaciation. It lies at the eastern edge of
Lac Saint-Pierre Lake Saint Pierre (, ; ) is a lake in Quebec, Canada, a widening of the Saint Lawrence River between Sorel-Tracy and Trois-Rivières. It is located downstream, and northeast, of Montreal; and upstream, and southwest, of Quebec City. The end of t ...
, a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
known as a stopping point for hundreds of thousands of migrating
waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...
and a nesting area for
heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...
s. The town of Nicolet is adjacent to the city of Bécancour, and across the Saint-Lawrence River from the city of
Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
.


Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...
, Nicolet 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. Population trend:Statistics Canada:
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
,
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
,
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
,
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
,
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
census
(+) Amalgamation of the City of Nicolet, the Municipality of Nicolet-Sud and the Parish of Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Nicolet on December 27, 2000. Mother tongue language (2006)2006 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Nicolet, Quebec
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Economy


Industry

Sogetel, a major independent telephone company, is headquartered here.


Education

Curé-Brassard is a local elementary school. École Secondaire Jean-Nicolet is a public high school located on Monseigneur-Brunault street. Collège Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption is a private high school located on Saint-Jean-Baptiste street. Nicolet also has École nationale de police du Québec (Québec National Police Academy) and École d'agriculture de Nicolet.
Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
, a city approximately 20 km away from Nicolet, offers access to colleges and a university.


Cultural

There is an ecological park, L'Anse du Port, featuring an observatory. The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Cathedral contains artwork. The Musée des Religions du Monde focuses on the historical and ethnographic context of religion.


Transportation

* Route 132 * Route 259


See also

*
List of cities in Quebec This is the list of municipalities that have the Classification of municipalities in Quebec, Quebec municipality type of city (Quebec), city (''ville'', code=V), an Administrative divisions of Quebec, administrative division defined by the Minist ...
*
Municipal history of Quebec The municipal history of Quebec started in 1796 with the creation of administrations for Montréal and Quebec City, but it really developed immediately prior to the creation of the Province of Canada in 1841 with the formation of municipal dist ...


References


External links


Town web site

Musée des Religions




{{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Quebec populated places on the Saint Lawrence River Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality