Lachine () is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

(''

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...

'') within the city 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 ...

on the

Island of Montreal The Island of Montreal (, ) is an island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, which is the site of a number of municipalities, including most of the city of Montreal, and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main island of the Hochelag ...

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 was founded as a trading post in 1669. Developing into a parish and then an autonomous city, it was merged as a municipality into Montreal in 2002.

History

The first

seigniory In English law, seignory or seigniory, spelled ''signiory'' in Early Modern English (; ; ), is the lordship (authority) remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple. '' Nulle terre sans seigneur'' ("No land without a lord") ...

, Côte-Saint-Sulpice, was granted to the explorer and fur trader

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (; November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a 17th-century French explorer and North American fur trade, fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada ...

in 1667, with the first French settlers arriving at the beginning of 1669. A trading post was established and then fortified under the name of Fort Rolland. This bastion became an important place for the fur trade. On August 4, 1689, more than 1500 Mohawk warriors raided the small village and burned it to the ground in retaliation for the ravaging of the Seneca lands, which the

governor of New France The governor of New France was the viceroy of the King of France in North America. A French nobleman, he was appointed to govern the colonies of New France, which included Canada, Acadia and Louisiana. The residence of the Governor was at the Chat ...

, the Marquis de Denonville, was accused of having committed. The

Lachine massacre The Lachine massacre, part of the Beaver Wars, occurred when 1,500 Mohawk warriors launched a surprise attack against the small (375 inhabitants) settlement of Lachine, New France, at the upper end of Montreal Island, on the morning of 5 August ...

left 80 dead. Lachine was incorporated as a village in 1848. It became a town in 1872 and a city in 1909. In 1912, it annexed the neighbouring Town of Summerlea, itself founded in 1895. It merged with the town of Saint-Pierre in 1999, and the combined municipality merged into Montreal on January 1, 2002. Lachine's logo during its municipality days is still in use today.

Etymology

Lachine, apparently from the French term ''la Chine'' for

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, is often said to have been named in 1667, in mockery of its then owner René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle, who explored the interior of North America trying to find a passage to China. When he returned without success, he and his men were derisively named ''les Chinois'' (the Chinese). The name was adopted when the parish of Saints-Anges-de-la-Chine was created in 1676, with the form "Lachine" appearing with the opening of a post office in 1829. An alternative etymology attributes the name to the famous French explorer

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 ...

, who also hoped to find a passage from 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 ...

to China. According to this version, in 1618 Champlain proposed that a customs house would tax the trade goods from China passing this point, hence the name Lachine.

Geography

The borough is located in the southwest portion of the

island of Montreal The Island of Montreal (, ) is an island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, which is the site of a number of municipalities, including most of the city of Montreal, and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main island of the Hochelag ...

, at the inlet of the

Lachine Canal The Lachine Canal (, ) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres (9 miles) from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine (borough), L ...

, between the borough of LaSalle and the city of Dorval. It was a separate city until the municipal mergers on January 1, 2002, and it did not demerge on January 1, 2006. The borough is bordered to the northwest by the city of Dorval, to the northeast by Saint-Laurent, to the east by Côte Saint-Luc, Montreal West and a narrow salient of Le Sud-Ouest, and to the south by LaSalle. Its western limit is the shore of Lake Saint-Louis and the

. It has an area of 17.83 km² (7 sq. mi.) and a population of 44,489 per the 2016 Canadian Census.

Demographics

Government

Municipal government

As of the November 7, 2021 Montreal election, the current borough council consists of the following members:

Federal and provincial districts

The entire borough is located within the federal riding of Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle, and within the provincial electoral district of Marquette.

Infrastructure

Autoroute 20 passes through Lachine, which is also served by the Lachine commuter train station. Most noticeable of Lachine's features is the

and its recreational facilities, including the Lachine Canal National Historic Site. Around the canal's inlet, in the southern part of the borough, are located

The Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site The Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site is a historic building located in the borough of Lachine in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, at the western end of the Lachine Canal. It is a National Historic Site of Canada. Beginning in the 17th centur ...

René Lévesque René Lévesque ( ; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to seek, ...

Park (on a long peninsula extending into

Lac Saint-Louis Lake Saint-Louis (, ) is a lake in southwestern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence and Ottawa River, Ottawa rivers. The Saint Lawrence Seaway passes through the lake. Lake St. Louis is a widening of th ...

), and the Musée de Lachine, which has collections of modern outdoor sculpture both on its own grounds, in René Lévesque Park, and in other sites throughout the borough. Other historic buildings are also located near the canal's inlet.

Parks

A memorial to

Air India Flight 182 Air India Flight 182 was a passenger flight operating on the Montréal–Mirabel International Airport, Montreal–Heathrow Airport, London–Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi–Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumb ...

is located in Monk Island, in Lachine. It was inaugurated in 2010.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

The '' Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys'' operates Francophone public schools. Adult schools include: *''Centre d'éducation des adultes de LaSalle'', ''Édifice Boileau'' Professional development centres include: *''Centre de formation professionnelle de Lachine'' (CFP), ''Édifice Dalbé-Viau'' and ''Édifice de la Rive'' Secondary schools include: *'' École secondaire Dalbé-Viau'' *'' Collège Saint-Louis'' *''College Sainte-Anne de Lachine'' Primary schools include: *''École Primaire Catherine-Soumillard'' *''École Primaire Victor Therrien'' Victor-therien-2

*''École Primaire des Berges-de-Lachine'' *''École Primaire Jardin-des-Saints-Anges'' *''École Primaire Martin-Bélanger'' *''École Primaire Paul-Jarry'' *''École Primaire Philippe-Morin'' *''École Primaire Très-Saint-Sacrement'' The Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) operates Anglophone public schools. * Lakeside Academy (a merger of Lachine High School and Bishop Whelan High School) *Maple Grove Elementary School in Lachine, a merger of the Meadowbrook School in Lachine and the Bishop-Whelan School in Dorval, opened in August 2010 *A portion is zoned to LaSalle Elementary Junior and Senior Campus in LaSalle *The Pearson Electrotechnology Centre (PEC; ''Centre d'électrotechnologie Pearson''), a public vocational school of the LBPSB, is in Lachine.

Public libraries

The

Montreal Public Libraries Network The Montreal Public Libraries Network ( , previously ''Réseau des bibliothèques publiques de Montréal'') is the public library system on the Island of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. It is the largest French language public library system in North ...

operates the Saint-Pierre Branch and the Saul-Bellow Branch in Lachine.Les bibliothèques par arrondissement
."

. Retrieved on December 7, 2014.

Notable residents

* Jean-Louis Besnard (dit Carignant) (1734–1791), merchant trader *

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915April 5, 2005) was a Canadian-American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only write ...

(1915–2005), author * M. Wylie Blanchet (1891-1961), travel writer, was raised in Lachine * Tim Harkness (1937), baseball player for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

* Enock Makonzo (1997), football player for the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

* Victor Malarek (1948-), journalist, broadcaster, novelist, investigative reporter * Michael E. Rose (1954–), journalist, broadcaster, novelist, playwright * Shmuel Schecter (1915–2000), rabbi and

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

educator

References

External links

Borough website
{{Authority control Boroughs of Montreal Populated places established in 1669 Populated places disestablished in 2002 Former cities in Quebec Hudson's Bay Company trading posts 1872 establishments in Quebec Quebec populated places on the Saint Lawrence River