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Marsoui is a village municipality in the
While the beluga hunt and cod fishing was popular in this area during the late 17th century, it was not until 1836 that the first permanent settlers, the Henley family of
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{{authority control Incorporated places in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Villages in Quebec
Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine
Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine () is an administrative region of Quebec consisting of the Gaspé Peninsula (''Gaspésie'') and the Îles-de-la-Madeleine. It lies in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the eastern extreme of southern Quebec. The pr ...
region of Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
, Canada.
The name Marsoui is thought to originate from the Mi'kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nor ...
word ''malseoui'', meaning "flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...
" which is abundant in the area. However, another theory explains that it comes from the French word ''marsouin'', the vernacular term for porpoise
Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals, all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae, parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals ...
or beluga whale
The beluga whale () (''Delphinapterus leucas'') is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus ''Delphinapterus''. It is also known as the whi ...
that used to be present in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in large numbers. Alternate spellings used over time were ''Marsouis, Marsoin'', and ''Marsouins''.
History
While the beluga hunt and cod fishing was popular in this area during the late 17th century, it was not until 1836 that the first permanent settlers, the Henley family of Mont-Louis
Mont-Louis (; or ''el Vilar d'Ovansa'') is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.
Geography
Mont-Louis is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Mont-Louis-La Caban ...
, arrived. They were followed by people from Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
.
In 1890, the Mission of Sainte-Émélie-de-Marsoui was founded there, and 3 years later, the local post office opened. Subsistence fishing was the main economic activity until 1911. Then a small saw mill was built that started the transformation to a forestry-based economy. Over the following decades, several saw mills burnt down and were rebuilt.
During the Prohibition era in the United States, Marsoui was a favorite hideout for smugglers fleeing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
.
In 1923, the villages of Marsoui and Rivière-à-la-Marthe separated from the municipality of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts to form the Township Municipality of Christie. In turn, Marsoui separated from this township in 1950 to be incorporated as a village municipality. Its first mayor was Alphonse Couturier, whose company had built a large saw mill in Marsoui in 1940.
From 1945 to 1954, a lead and zinc mine operated about southwest of Marsoui.
Demographics
In the2021 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, Marsoui 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 language (2016)2016 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Marsoui, Quebec/ref>
Economy
The primary industry of Marsoui is forestry. The Bois Marsoui GDS mill supports 60% of its population. There is also a small tourism industry, including 2 commercialsugar house
A sugar shack (french: cabane à sucre), also known as sap house, sugar house, sugar shanty or sugar cabin is a commercial establishment, primarily found in Eastern Canada and northern New England. Sugar shacks are small cabins or groups of cab ...
s. Other businesses provide local commercial and public services.
See also
*List of village municipalities in Quebec
This is the list of communities in Quebec that have the legal status of village municipalities (''village'', code=VL) as defined by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy.
This does not include Cree villages (code=VC), Na ...
References
{{authority control Incorporated places in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Villages in Quebec