Pain Court (pronounced ''pan corr'' by non-francophones; often incorrectly spelled Paincourt) is a historically French-speaking agricultural village in southwestern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

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 ...

, in the municipality of

Chatham-Kent Chatham-Kent (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 103,988) is a Census divisions of Ontario#Single-tier municipalities, single-tier municipality in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is mostly rural, and its population centres are Chatham, Wallac ...

. It was established in 1854, as one of the earliest French-speaking settlements in southern Ontario. Pain Court was founded when English and French-speaking squatters from the

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, area began to settle the indigenous lands along the lower

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

in the region in the 1780s. It derived its name from the small loaves of bread which the impoverished parishioners offered to Roman Catholic missionaries.

History

By the 1820s in the nearby "Pain Court Block", one of the earliest French-speaking (

Franco-Ontarian Franco-Ontarians ( or if female, sometimes known as ''Ontarois'' and ''Ontaroises'') are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2021, according to the Government of Ontario, ther ...

) communities in southern Ontario had developed. Named ''Pain Court'' (literally meaning " short bread") by

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

missionaries in reference to the small loaves of bread which was all the impoverished parishioners could offer, the settlement was surveyed in 1829. In 1852 a chapel was built and two years later construction of a church commenced. It quickly became the cultural and educational centre of French-speaking Catholics in the area. By 1866 when a post office was established, a small village had developed. Formerly within Dover Township of Kent County, in 1998 the area became part of the new Municipality of

. Located in Pain Court, Laprise Farms Limited has become the largest producer of

brussels sprouts The Brussels sprout is a member of the Gemmifera cultivar group of cabbages (''Brassica oleracea''), grown for its edible buds. Etymology Though native to the Mediterranean region with other cabbage species, Brussels sprouts first appeared i ...

in Canada as of 1998. Along with the annual Pain Court Truck and Tractor Pull, the community hosted the 2018

International Plowing Match The International Plowing Match (IPM), held annually in Ontario, is North America's largest outdoor agricultural and rural expo. It is usually held in late September, and usually attracts more than 80,000 visitorscontent over the 5-day event. Eac ...

Education

The ''

Conseil scolaire catholique Providence The ''Conseil scolaire catholique Providence'' (Csc Providence) is the French-language Catholic school board for southwestern Ontario, Canada. The Providence Catholic School Board includes 10,000 students in its 31 schools: 23 elementary schools ...

'' (CSC) operates Francophone Catholic schools serving the community. It maintains its Chatham-Kent regional office in Pain Court. Pain Court has an elementary and a secondary French-language (

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

) school. École Sainte-Catherine is a small elementary school located directly across the street from its sister school, École secondaire de Pain Court, a small high school with 270 students.

Wildlife

Just west of Pain Court, on the shores of

Lake St. Clair Lake St. Clair () is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day they first saw the lake. ...

, an Environment Canada National Wildlife Area (St. Clair NWA) provides a variety of migrating birds with wetland habitat of international importance. It is one of only 51 such sites in Canada.St. Clair National Wildlife Area
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Notable persons

Maurice Bossy Maurice Louis Bossy (April 1, 1929 – November 29, 2008) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1984, and represented the Ontario Liberal Party in the Legislative Assembly of ...

(1929–2008), Canadian and provincial politician was educated in Pain Court. * Joseph Caron (b. 1947), the former Canadian diplomat, was raised in Pain Court. * Lawrence Raymond "Jerry" Gervais (1919–2002) was raised in Pain Court, and is the father of British comedian

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...

(b. 1961). * Arthur Pelkey (1884–1921), heavyweight boxer.

References

External links