Ormstown is a municipality in

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 ...

, which is situated on the

Châteauguay River The Châteauguay River (or Chateaugay River in the United States) is a tributary of the South Shore of the St. Lawrence River, flowing in: * Clinton County, New York, Clinton County and Franklin County, New York, Franklin County, in the Adironda ...

in the heart of the Châteauguay Valley. It is approximately one hour southwest 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 ...

and 20 minutes north of

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in the

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. The population as of the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, 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%, whic ...

was 3,917. Ormstown has two elementary schools, one high school ( Chateauguay Valley Regional), and two adult education facilities, several restaurants and churches. Ormstown is also well known for its numerous antique dealers and unique gift shops. There is a park north of the centre of town which is home to Ormstown Beach, an urban legend created and memorialized in the 1970s with "I've been to Ormstown Beach" bumper stickers. It is a popular summer activity to cycle along the

. The town has traces of an old dam, which was once the source of power for the mill. People living outside the town only gained access to electricity following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

History

Settlement of the area began in the early 19th century and by 1820, it was populated by people from Scotland and the north of Ireland. There is uncertainty about the origin of the name Ormstown, possibly a distortion of "

Ormiston Ormiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about . The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 173 ...

", a Scottish village. Around 1860 it was also called Durham. In 1808, a sawmill was built, followed by a Presbyterian church in 1829 and an Anglican church in 1832. In 1836, the Ormstown Post Office opened, and in 1846, the Catholic parish was established under the name Saint-Malachie-d'Ormstown, in honour of

Saint Malachy Malachy (; ; Modern ; ) (11th century in Ireland, 1094 – 2 November 1148 in Ireland, 1148) is an Irish saint who was Archbishop of Armagh, to whom were attributed several miracles and an alleged vision of 112 popes later attributed to t ...

. In 1845, the Municipality of Ormstown was founded, but dissolved in 1847. In 1855, it was reestablished as the Parish Municipality of Saint-Malachie-d’Ormstown. In 1889, the main town centre split off to form the Village Municipality of Ormstown. In the 1950s, Ormstown became the site of a significant

microwave radio relay Microwave transmission is the Data transmission, transmission of information by electromagnetic waves with wavelengths in the microwave frequency range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz (1 m - 1 mm wavelength) of the electromagnetic spectrum ...

station, part of the Trans Canada Telephone System. Initially, the system passed through the major cities of Canada via towers located on top of downtown telephone buildings. Subsequently, concerns were expressed that a disaster affecting any of those city cores, such as a war or uprising, would result in an interruption of the continuity of the transcontinental communications system. The solution was to locate a "bypass" microwave site outside each of those cities with links to the east and west, as well as a short link into the city. The Ormstown facility was the bypass point for Montreal, but had further significance as it also included a link to the

AT&T Long Lines AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

TD2 microwave system in the United States. In 2000, the village municipality merged with the surrounding parish municipality of St-Malachie d'Ormstown to form the Municipality of Ormstown.

Geography

Communities

In addition to the main population centre of Ormstown, the following locations reside within the municipality's boundaries: *Tatehurst () – a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

located in the northern portion along Route 201.

Lakes & Rivers

The following waterways pass through or are situated within the municipality's boundaries: * Étang Greig (Greig Pond) () – a pond in the eastern portion. * Rivière aux Outardes (Outardes River) (Mouth ) – tributary of the Châteauguay River. * Rivière aux Outardes Est (East Outardes River) (Mouth ) – tributary of Rivière aux Outardes. *

– flows west to east through the municipality.

Demographics

Population

Language

Attractions

Expo Ormstown

One of the town's main attractions is the Expo Ormstown—formally known as the Ormstown Fair—which was started in 1910. It is held annually during the second week of June, making it Quebec's earliest spring fair. Several competitions take place at the fair: farm animals, crafts, horticulture and baked goods are evaluated by judges and can be viewed by fair goers. Other competitions include a tractor pull, demolition derby, and equestrian events. Additionally, there are carnival rides, arcades, a petting zoo, and live musical performances. The Ormstown fair attracts people from all surrounding areas.

Government

Jacques Lapierre was elected to fill the post of mayor on November 1, 2009, replacing interim mayor Luc Lavigueur. Lavigueur took over the post after former mayor John McCaig resigned for health reasons. List of former mayors since formation of current municipality: # Madeleine Himbault Greig (2000–2001) # John McCaig (2001–2008) # Luc Lavigueur (2008–2009) # Jacques Lapierre (2009–2013, 2017–2021) # Jean Côté (2013–2014) # Chrystian Soucy (2014–2017) # Christine McAleer (2021–present)

Infrastructure

Transportation

Exo du Haut-Saint-Laurent formerly provided commuter and local bus services, but these have been replaced by services provided by the Haut-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality.

References

External links

*
Battle of the Châteauguay National Historic Site of Canada

Expo Ormstown
{{Authority control Municipalities in Quebec Bilingual cities and towns in Quebec Incorporated places in Le Haut-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality