Clermont () is a ''

ville ''Ville'' is a French word meaning "city" or "town", but its meaning in the Middle Ages was "farm" (from Gallo-Romance VILLA < Latin '' villa rustica'') ...

'' in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

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, ...

, and the seat of government for the

Charlevoix-Est Regional County Municipality Charlevoix-Est () is a regional county municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. The seat is Clermont. Subdivisions There are 9 subdivisions within the RCM: ;Cities & Towns (2) * Clermont * La Malbaie ;Municipalities ...

. It is located on the southern banks of the

Malbaie River The Malbaie River in the Charlevoix region empties into the Saint Lawrence River at La Malbaie. Until 1985 the river was used to transport logs downstream. It flows through a steep valley known as Les Hautes Gorges. A sugar maple and American e ...

History

Around 1800, the first settlers moved into the area, living primarily of agriculture. Followed by a saw and flour mill, tradeshops, and stores, a settlement grew that was then known as Chute Nairne. At the close of the century, the place attracted attention for its hydro-electric potential, and by 1900, a dam was built across the Malbaie River, supplying electricity to

La Malbaie La Malbaie () is a municipality in the Charlevoix-Est Regional County Municipality in the Province of Quebec, Canada, situated on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River at the mouth of the Malbaie River. It was formerly known as Murray Bay ...

and surrounding area. In 1909,

Rodolphe Forget Colonel Sir Joseph David Rodolphe Forget (December 10, 1861 – February 19, 1919) was a Canadian business investor, stockbroker, and politician. He held national directorships and had major investments in energy companies, as well as industr ...

founded the East Canada Power and Pulp Company, and wanting to profit from the phenomenal growth in the pulp and paper market, he built Chute Nairne's first paper mill in 1911. The industrial development changed the place from a rural and agricultural society to a rapidly growing urban community.

Félix-Antoine Savard Félix-Antoine Savard, (August 31, 1896 – August 24, 1982) was a Canadian priest, academic, poet, novelist and folklorist. Born in Quebec City, he grew up in Chicoutimi, Quebec. He received a Bachelor of Arts in 1918 and was ordained a pri ...

, famous Québécois author and at that time priest of the Parish of Saint-Étienne in La Malbaie, was also responsible for Chute Nairne. His parishioners there were upset about being left a bit to themselves and about being far away from the parish church. Savard, at the request of residents of Chute Nairne, petitioned the bishop of

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi ( , ) is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and ...

, Charles Lamarche, to obtain permission for a new parish and church. The request was accepted on September 18, 1931, and the Parish of Saint-Philippe-de-la-Chute-Nairn was formed, also called Parish of Saint-Philippe-de-Clermont, because Félix-Antoine Savard greatly admired and paid tribute to

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal (19June 162319August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. Pascal was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. His earliest ...

who came from

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

in France. On February 16, 1935, the place separated from the Parish Municipalities of Saint-Etienne de Murray-Bay and Sainte-Agnès (currently both part of La Malbaie) and was incorporated as a municipality, officially adopting the name Clermont for the new municipality. In 1949, Clermont changed its status to village and in 1967 to town.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

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 ...

, Clermont 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. Mother tongue (2021): * English as first language: 0.2% * French as first language: 99.3% * English and French as first language: 0.2% * Other as first language: 0.3%

Economy

Clermont's economy centres on the Abitibi-Bowater paper mill, formerly the Donohue mill that was founded in 1936 by the brothers Timothy and Charles Donohue and employed close to a thousand people in the 1970s. Clermont is also the end of the

Charlevoix Railway The Charlevoix Railway () is a short-line railroad, short-line railway that operates in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada. From 1994 to 2009 it was a subsidiary of the Quebec Railway Corporation, a short line operator. Since April 2009 ...

and therefore is an

intermodal freight transport Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation (e.g., rail, ship, aircraft, and truck), without any handling of the freight itself when changing ...

hub primarily for wood.

Attractions

The location of the city of Clermont makes it conducive to outdoor activities of all kinds. First, the fishermen are pampered because of the presence of a salmon river; the

. Moreover, this river is the central point of various activities including the '' Festival of Fishing ''. Other outdoor activities are also feasible such as

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

. An ice hockey arena is available for ice hockey and ice skating enthusiasts. The city of Clermont also hosts the Boomerang Charlevoix, a team of the Hockey League Beauce-Bellechasse-Frontenac.

Charlevoix impact structure

The

Charlevoix impact structure The Charlevoix impact structure is a large eroded meteorite impact structure in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada. Only part of the impact structure is exposed at the surface, the rest lying beneath the Saint Lawrence River. Description ...

in which the city of Clermont is located is a meteorite

impact structure An impact structure is a generally circular or craterlike geologic structure of deformed bedrock or sediment produced by impact on a planetary surface, whatever the stage of erosion of the structure. In contrast, an impact crater is the surface e ...

of created 350 million years ago by the impact of a

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

of in diameter. In July and August, from Baie Saint-Paul, it is possible to participate daily in guided tours of the impact structure organized by a non-profit scientific organization. These visits reveal the geology of the region, the origin of the impact structure, the human developments made possible by the impact structure and the region's diverse flora, which is also the result of the presence of the impact structure. During the rest of the year, the same visits are organized on request.

Monument Alexis Lapointe (known as "The Trotter")

The August 8, 2010, a monument of the artist Léonce Émond was inaugurated at the Des Berges City Park of Clermont, near the

, to evoke the memory of Alexis Lapointe (known as "The Trotter") (1860-1924 ). The latter was reputed to be one of the greatest runners of his time.

Malbaie River

The Malbaie River, which crosses the city of Clermont towards the South, is a great attraction for recreational tourism activities, such as salmon fishing or landlocked salmon. A bike path generally in wooded area runs along the west bank of the

passing in particular in the municipal park Des Berges, bypassing some small bodies of water and the water treatment center, to the bridge spanning the river.

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Incorporated places in Capitale-Nationale