Saint-Quentin is a town in northern

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada. Saint-Quentin is in the Restigouche region of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

, 50 kilometres west of

Mount Carleton At 817m, Mount Carleton, in Mount Carleton Provincial Park is the highest peak in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, and the Maritime Provinces. It is one of the highlights of the Canadian portion of the International Appalachian Trail. ...

, the province's highest elevation. The majority of individuals in the area speak French. On 1 January 2023, Saint-Quentin annexed the

local service district A local service district is a type of designated place in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. In the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, a local service district is a defined area led by an elected committee responsible for the deliv ...

(LSD) of St. Martin de Restigouche and part of the LSD of the parish of Saint-Quentin Revised census figures have not been released.

History

In 1897, the Restigouche and Western Railway Company embarked on a project to build a railway linking Campbellton and St-Léonard, two towns in northwestern

. The progress of its construction sent workers deep into the forest. In 1909, Simon Gallant, an Acadian working as a blacksmith, decided to settle his family by a stream near Five Fingers where he found a stray cow. At the same time, authorities began to worry about the emigration of Québec families to the United States and to Western Canada, resulting in a population decline. Msgr. Joseph Arthur Melanson, the largest settler and missionary in Saint-Quentin Parish, originally named Anderson Siding, launched a large program of colonization. Valuing farming and agriculture, he encouraged Acadien and Québécois families to settle in the Restigouche region of New Brunswick on the fertile lands along the length of the newly built train line. The village of Anderson Siding was founded in 1910; its first mass was held in Simon Gallant's round log cabin in the forest. The first chapel was built in 1911, its first post office in 1912, its first school in 1913, and its first church in 1918. The name Anderson Siding was changed to the present name of Saint-Quentin in 1919 in commemoration of the Canadian victory in the French town of the same name during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Its first hospital, Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Joseph, was built in 1947 and is still in operation today. Saint-Quentin was incorporated as a district in 1947, as a village in 1966, and as a town in 1992.

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 ...

, Saint-Quentin 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.

Language

Mother tongue language (2011)

Industry

Logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

of the area's forests is Saint-Quentin's largest industry. The two

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s, Groupe Savoie and North American Forest Products, are Saint-Quentin's largest employers, employing 400 and 225 employees respectively. Agriculture is another major industry in the Saint-Quentin region. Livestock is raised for dairy, beef and pork production, and potatoes, grain and hay are grown on the area's many farms. The production of maple syrup and other maple sugar products is the third major industry in the region; there are over 35 commercial maple plantations as well as 25 traditional sugar shacks in the area.

Tourism

''Festival Western''

Since 1984, Saint-Quentin has hosted the ''Festival Western'' (Western Festival) in mid-July of each year, the largest Western-themed festival of its kind in

. Run by Le Festival Western de Saint-Quentin, Inc., it now includes rodeo, a parade, fireworks, children's activities and much more. The largest event is the "Pow-Pow", a flea market and gathering of local musicians and performers which takes place on Rue Canada, the main street of the town, which is closed to traffic for the occasion.

Old railway station

In 2005, the former railway station, which was reconstructed in its original location, reopened as a tourist centre as well as the offices of the Chamber of Commerce and the ''Festival Western''. The route of the train tracks, which have been removed, has been transformed into a trail for walking, bicycling, and riding all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles.

Other events and activities

*The ''Festival de l'Érable'' (Maple Festival), launched in 2004, takes place in the spring of each year, the maple sugar season, and includes tours of maple sugarbushes, shacks and refineries, as well as sawmills which process maple wood. In addition, it includes a market where vendors sell maple products, including syrup, sugar, salad dressing, and maple-flavoured alcoholic beverages. *A ''Carnival d'Hiver'' (Winter Carnival) is held in February and comprises winter-themed activities. *Golfing at the local golf course and riding ATVs and snowmobiles are popular activities.

References

External links

Official website

{{Authority control Communities in Restigouche County, New Brunswick Towns in New Brunswick Logging communities in Canada