Lac-Édouard () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making tourism in Mauricie popular. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km2 (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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 ...

. Its village centre is located along the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

at the north end of the namesake Lake Édouard. On March 26, 2003, it became part of the City of La Tuque as part of the

early 2000s municipal reorganization in Quebec Early may refer to: Places in the United States * Early, Iowa, a city * Early, Texas, a city * Early Branch, a stream in Missouri * Early County, Georgia * Fort Early, Georgia, an early 19th century fort Music * Early B, stage name of Jamaican d ...

, but following a 2004 referendum, the Municipalities of La Bostonnais and Lac-Édouard were reconstituted on January 1, 2006. It remains part of the

urban agglomeration of La Tuque La Tuque ( , , ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,129 at the 2021 Canadian census, most of which live within the urban area. At over , i ...

. It had formerly been part of

Le Haut-Saint-Maurice Regional County Municipality Le Haut-Saint-Maurice () was a former regional county municipality and census division in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada. It was formed on January 1, 1982, and dissolved on March 26, 2003, when it was amalgamated in its entirety into the n ...

, which was abolished in the wake of the merger; after demerger, it is one of the few municipalities (other than in the

Nord-du-Québec Nord-du-Québec (; ) is the largest, but the least populous, of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. Spread over nearly 14 degrees of latitude, north of the 49th parallel, the region covers on the Labrador Peninsula, making ...

region) that is not part of any

regional county municipality The term regional county municipality or RCM (, , MRC) is used in Quebec, Canada to refer to one of 87 county-like political entities. In some older English translations they were called county regional municipality. Regional county municipalit ...

History

The name of Lake Édouard, which was recorded since 1828 by the surveyor Joseph Bouchette, honours Native American hunter Edouard Jeannotte. Another surveyor, J. P. Mullarkey, wrote in 1893 that hunter Edouard Jeannotte had also given its name to the Jeannotte River, one of the two tributaries of the lake. The lake's name is also attested in

Montagnais The Innu/Ilnu ('man, person'), formerly called Montagnais (French for 'mountain people'; ), are the Indigenous Canadians who inhabit northeastern Labrador in present-day Newfoundland and Labrador and some portions of Quebec. They refer to t ...

language using the toponym "Etoolsakigan", which also means Lake Edouard. The history of Lake Edward begins with the construction of the

Quebec and lake St-John Railway Quebec is Canada's 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, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

in 1885, which connects

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 ...

Lac Saint-Jean Lac Saint-Jean (, ) is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an area of , and is ...

. The presence of lakes and wildlife areas attracted the rich

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...

and prompted the construction of the Lac-Edouard railway station in 1886, a post office and a Catholic mission in 1889. The Triton Fish and Game Club (today the

Seigneurie du Triton The Seigneurie du Triton is a hunting and fishing outfitter located in the municipality of Lake Edouard, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in Quebec, Canada. The outfitter has exclusive rights to of wilderness, and is a private enterpris ...

) was the most prestigious club hunting and fishing in Quebec and received illustrious members, in particular

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

(Prime Minister of the

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

) and American presidents such as

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

and

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

, as well as family members of Rockefeller and

Molson The Molson Brewery is a Canada-based brewery based in Montreal and was established in 1786 by the Molson family. In 2005, Molson merged with the Adolph Coors Company to become Molson Coors. Molson Coors maintains some of its Canadian operati ...

. The remoteness of Lac-Edouard also led to the creation of a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

in 1904. The parish of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges was created in 1937 and the place received municipal status in 1951. However, the development of antibiotics led to the closure of the sanatorium in 1967. In 2003, Lac-Edouard was merged with

La Tuque La Tuque ( , , ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,129 at the 2021 Canadian census, most of which live within the urban area. At over , i ...

; however, this merger was challenged and the municipality was restored in 2006.

Administrative chronology

* 1889 - Proclamation creating Trudel township * 1891 - Proclamation creating Laure township * 1901 - Proclamation creating Bickerdike township * 1904 - Proclamation creating Gendron township * 1 - Constitution of the municipality of Lac-Edouard from the entire territory of the townships Bickerdike, Gendron, Laura and Trudel. * 26 - Lac-Édouard is fused to

* 1 - Reconstruction of the City of Lac-Edouard in the former territory of 1951.

Sanatorium

The sanatorium of Lac-Édouard, which had been in operation from 1904 to 1967, contributed greatly to the local economy. The five historic buildings on the site were built between 1910 and 1926. Tunnels built in cement were used in particular to get the pipes coming from the boiler and from raised huge reservoir of drinking water. The main tunnel was used for the movement of personnel, supplies and, if necessary, to remove the dead bodies from the hospital. The primary purpose of the sanatorium was to house and treat

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

patients. This infectious disease, with variable clinical signs, was once treated in sanatoriums, for cures under the sun and outdoors activities. The disease was much better controlled in the 1950s, thanks to newly discovered antibiotics. Subsequently cures to sanatoriums in the fight against tuberculosis became less and less necessary. Located on a point of land jutting out into the Lac Edouard, the site of the sanatorium and outbuildings was well equipped. The natural setting, on the edge of the lake, attracted beneficiaries, generally wealthy. They arrived by train at the Lac-Edouard railway station by train, from Hervey-Jonction, Quebec or

Chambord Chambord can refer to: * Chambord (liqueur), a brand of raspberry-flavored liqueur * Château de Chambord, a French ''château'' built in the 16th century * Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, the French commune where the ''château'' is located * Chambord, Eu ...

. A shuttle was required between the railway station and the sanatorium. Many visitors were coming by train to see their sick relatives or friends living at the sanatorium. Many beneficiaries of the sanatorium died there during its history. After 1967, the sanatorium served as a hospital dedicated to military veterans. Then, the building was transformed into a center for people with intellectual disabilities. Finally, the sanatorium was closed in 1982 and abandoned, thus weakening the local economy. The building of the sanatorium had four floors (wearing a turret as the fifth floor), with a solid concrete structure, exterior walls in red brick and many windows all around. Religious and lay staff nursed hundreds of resident beneficiaries. Doctors, nurses and support staff were housed in adjacent buildings or houses in the village of Lac-Édouard. After 1982, this historic site (except the sanatorium) continued to be used for several years for tourist activities. Finally, the site became a ghost town. On the night of May 10 to 11, 2013, a fire completely destroyed the building of the house of nuns, located a few hundred metres from the sanatorium.Pierre Louis Paquin, article "Incendie suspect à Lac-Édouard: un joyau patrimonial brûlé" (Fire suspect in Lake Edward Island: a gem heritage burned), journal Le Nouvelliste, May 13, 2013. This large house had a large atrium, two stories high, at the entrance. The rooms of the nuns were furnished on the second floor. In 2006, businessman Jean-Guy Pronovost from

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 ...

acquired the site and outdoor base from Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife.

Demographics

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 118 (total dwellings: 298) Mother tongue: * English as first language: 0% * French as first language: 97.7% * English and French as first language: 0% * Other as first language: 0%

References

External links