Chambly () is an off-island suburb of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in southwestern

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. It is located in the

Montérégie Montérégie () is an administrative region in the southwest part of Quebec. It includes the cities of Boucherville, Brossard, Châteauguay, Longueuil, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Vaudreuil-Dorion. ...

region, inland from the South Shore of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

. It was formed from the merger in 1965 of Fort-Chambly (formerly Chambly-Canton prior to 1952) and the old city of Chambly (formerly Chambly-Basin prior to 1952, and earlier sometimes called Bassin-de-Chambly).

History

Descendants of European immigrants have lived in Chambly since the 17th century, but Chambly was not incorporated as a city until 1965.

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

passed through the area that came to be the site of the town of Chambly, QC, in 1609., when he wrote the following in his journal:

Fort Chambly Fort Chambly is a historic fort in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec. It is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. Fort Chambly was formerly known as Fort St. Louis. It was part of a series of five fortifica ...

was captured by American forces on October 20, 1775, during the American Invasion of Canada of 1775–76, it was held until the spring of 1776 when it was evacuated and burned, as the Americans retreated southward to

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in northern New York. It was constructed between October 1755 and 1757 by French-Canadian ...

. Subsequently, prisoners-of-war from the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

, including Colonel

William Stacy William Stacy (February 15, 1734 – August 1802) was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country. Published histories describe Colonel William Stacy's involvement in a variety ...

, were held at Fort Chambly until the end of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. During the occupation the

1st Canadian Regiment The 1st Canadian Regiment (1775–1781) was an Extra Continental regiment of the American Patriots' Continental Army, consisting primarily of volunteers from the Province of Quebec. The 1st was raised by James Livingston to support Pat ...

, an Extra Continental regiment, was raised by James Livingston to support Colonial efforts in the

during the invasion of Quebec. Livingston recruited men from Chambly,

as early as September 1775, but a formal regimental designation was made by

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish-born American military officer who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and ...

on November 20, 1775, with recognition by the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...

following on January 8, 1776. The regiment, which never approached its authorized size of 1,000 men, saw action primarily in the Canadian theater and New York, and was disbanded on January 1, 1781. The College of Chambly was chartered on March 21, 1835, in Lower Canada.

Fort Chambly

Chambly is home to the massive

, built with local stone between 1709 and 1711 in the style of Vauban's classic French fortifications. It was built at the mouth of a large basin, on the site of successive wooden forts dating back to 1665.

was the largest in a series of fortifications on the shores of what was known as the Iroquois River (later known as the Chambly River, finally becoming the

Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence. It was formerly kno ...

in the nineteenth century). Originally called Fort Saint-Louis, it soon came to be known by the name of its first commanding officer, Jacques de Chambly, to whom the surrounding seigniory was granted in 1672. It was intended to protect

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, 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 Kingdom of Great Br ...

in general (and

in specific) from attack from indigenous peoples and the English. Today, the fort is run by

Parks Canada Parks Canada ()Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 37 National Parks, three National Marine Co ...

and is designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

, and houses a museum and interpretive centre, and hosts historical re-enactments of military drills (as well as a number of contemporary cultural events). A small local population clustered around the fort, and the entire area eventually became known as Chambly as well. Among the buildings around the Fort was St. Stephen's Anglican Church, which was built to serve the soldiers in garrison as well as the local Loyalist and English settler population.

Chambly Canal

Chambly is also known for the Chambly Canal, a National Historic Site run by

. It was built in 1843 to bypass several kilometers of successive

rapids between the towns of Chambly, QC, and

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu () is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Canadian province of Quebec, about southeast of Montreal, located roughly halfway between Montreal and the Canada–United States border with the state of Vermont. It is sit ...

. Part of a series of waterways connecting the

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Chambly Canal was built to facilitate commercial traffic between

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 ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Trade dwindled after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and as of the 1970s, traffic has been replaced by recreational vessels. Today the canal is enjoyed by tourists and more than 7,000 pleasure boats in the summer, and ice skaters in the winter. St-Joseph of Chambly Church, at 164 rue Martel, was built between 1880 and 1881. The parish was founded in 1665.

Geography

It sits on the

in the Regional County Municipality of La-Vallée-du-Richelieu, at .

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 ...

, Chambly 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: Mother tongue language (2021)2021 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Chambly, Quebec
/ref>

Economy

Chambly is home to the annual ''Festival Bières et Saveurs de Chambly'' (Chambly Beers and Flavours Festival), an annual beer and local food festival that takes place every

Labour Day Labour Day is an annual day of celebration of the labour movement and its labor rights, achievements. It has its origins in the trade union, labour union movement, specifically the Eight-hour day movement, eight-hour day movement, which advoca ...

weekend since 2002. Minors are allowed to attend, but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times. There is a special zone in the festival area dedicated just for minors as well. The festival takes place just outside of Fort Chambly.

Infrastructure

The exo Chambly-Richelieu-Carignan region provides commuter and local bus services.

Education

In English, the

South Shore Protestant Regional School Board The South Shore Protestant Regional School Board (SSPRSB) was a Protestant Christian school district in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It served the South Shore region and it was headquartered in St. Lambert. The district operated elementary ...

and later the Richelieu Valley School Board previously served the municipality. Currently Chambly is served by the Riverside School Board and specifically by William Latter Elementary School. Anglophone secondary students in Chambly are zoned for Heritage Regional High School in

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...

's Saint-Hubert borough. In French, the Commission scolaire des Patriotes serves Chambly, with the following schools located in the municipality: * École De Bourgogne (Elementary) * École De Salaberry (Elementary) * École Jacques-De Chambly (Elementary) * École Sainte-Marie (Elementary) * École Madeleine-Brousseau (Elementary) * École secondaire de Chambly (Secondary 1, 2 and 3)

Media

Chambly is currently served by a local weekly newspaper called the "Journal de Chambly", first published in 1966. A small daily news sheet called Chambly Matin also maintains a journalistic presence on the internet reporting on local issues.

Notable people

* Emma Albani – Opera singer * Michael Duheme – Police officer, 25th Commissioner of the RCMP * Mathieu Joseph – Ice hockey player * Georges Larivière – Professor, Writer, Ice hockey coach * Ricardo Larrivée – Television personality * Robert Lebel – Former mayor of Chambly, Hockey Hall of Fame inductee * Étienne Lucier – Fur trader * Étienne Provost – Fur trader * Jacqueline Simoneau – Olympian *

André Rousseau André Rousseau, (January 12, 1911 – September 17, 2002), was an entrepreneur and politician in Quebec. He was the first to occupy the position of Minister of Industry and Commerce from July 5, 1960, to December 5, 1962, under the first Go ...

– Deputy minister

References

External links

Town of Chambly website

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Incorporated places in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality