Saint-Casimir is a municipality of about 1800 people in the

Portneuf Regional County Municipality Portneuf () is a regional county municipality (RCM) in the Capitale-Nationale administrative region of Quebec, Canada. RCM of Portneuf has been established on January 1, 1982. It is composed of 21 municipalities: nine cities, seven municipalities, ...

in the province of

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 ...

. It is located on the

Sainte-Anne River Sainte-Anne River (Les Chenaux), Teyaiar River ( Huron Wendat), rivière Sainte-Anne (French), flows from north to south on the north shore in the estuary section of the St. Lawrence River, in Les Chenaux, Portneuf and La Jacques-Cartier R ...

, about southwest of

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

and northeast of

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 ...

. It was founded in 1836 by people who came from Ste-Anne-de-la-Pérade following to the east along the Sainte-Anne. The name of Saint-Casimir was given in honour of Mr. Casimir Déry, a notary who paid for the construction of the church, which is in the top 10 of the most beautiful churches in the province of Québec. In turn, the church, and the town, is named after

Saint Casimir Casimir Jagiellon (; ; ; ; 3 October 1458 – 4 March 1484) was a prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was tutored by Johannes Longinus, a Polish chronicler, diplo ...

, a

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, and youth.

History

Saint-Casimir was founded in 1836 by people who came from Ste-Anne-de-la-Pérade following to the east along the Sainte-Anne.

Alain Grandbois Alain Grandbois, (May 25, 1900 – March 18, 1975) was a Canadian Quebecer poet, considered the first great modern one. Traveling around the world in 1918-1939 and sharing the hopes and problems of contemporary man, his work combined the th ...

was born in Saint-Casimir in 1900. In the summer of 1973, a wave on the Niagarette devastated a small area, where it joins the Sainte-Anne River. A few houses were destroyed by the powerful water wave, due to strong rain, and debris that blocked the small river for a few hours. On the morning of 22 March 1997, five members of the

Order of the Solar Temple The Order of the Solar Temple (, OTS), or simply the Solar Temple, was a new religious movement and secret society, often described as a cult, notorious for the mass deaths of many of its members in several mass murders and suicides throughout ...

died in a mass suicide in Saint-Casimir. A small house exploded into flames, leaving behind five charred bodies for the police to pull from the rubble. Three teenagers, the children of one of the couples who died in the fire, were discovered in a shed behind the house, alive but heavily drugged.

Geography

Two provincial numbered roads go through St-Casimir: Route 354 (east-west - from Ste-Anne de la Pérade to St-Raymond) and Route 363 (south-north - from Deschambault to Lac-aux-Sables). Both roads lead to Autoroute 40, the Montreal-Québec City link on the north shore. Five rivers run in Saint-Casimir: Sainte-Anne, Niagarette, Petite Niagarette, Blanche and Noire. Saint-Casimir is also the home to a

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

rn, the " Trou du Diable" ("Devil's Hole"). It is the second-longest cave in Québec, at . It was formed by the former tributary of the Sainte-Anne River, which left behind a stream. Many tourists pass through it every summer.

Demographics

Population trend: * Population in 2021: 1,449 (2016 to 2021 population change: 1.3%) * Population in 2016: 1,430 * Population in 2011: 1,500 * Population in 2006: 1,528 * Population in 2001: 1,582 * Population in 1996: 1,347 * Population in 1991: 1,331 * Population in 1986: 1,389 Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 693 (total dwellings: 755) Mother tongue: * English as first language: 0.7% * French as first language: 98.2% * English and French as first language: 0.4% * Other as first language: 0.7%

Education

Three Rivers Academy The Three Rivers Academy is an English-language high school in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. It was created from the amalgamation of St. Patrick's High School and Three Rivers High School. Three Rivers Academy is now where St. Patrick's High ...

(of the

Central Quebec School Board The Central Québec School Board (CQSB; ) is an English-language school board in the province of Quebec, Canada, with its headquarters at 2046 chemin Saint-Louis, Quebec City. It is one of nine English-language school boards in the province, havin ...

) in

serves English-speaking students in this community for the secondary levels while Portneuf Elementary School in

Cap-Santé Cap-Santé () is a town in the Canadian province of Quebec. It is the county seat of Portneuf Regional County Municipality and was as well the county seat of the designated Portneuf County, Quebec, Portneuf County. The name of the town means "C ...

serves elementary levels.

Photos

Saint-Casimir (Municipality) File:Saint_Casimir_007.jpg, Private residence, Sacré-Cœur-de-Jésus Parish Church, Sainte-Anne River, Bridge 06073, steel lower deck structure, Roads 354 & 363 File:Rivi%C3%A8re_Sainte_Anne_2021_02_26_010.jpg, Sainte-Anne River, Rang du Rapide Sud File:2021 03 23 003 riviere Ste Anne.jpg, Sainte Anne River,

sedimentary rocks Sedimentary rocks are types of rock formed by the cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or deposited at Earth's surface. Sedim ...

, Trenton Group limestones, rock faces, ice formations File:Saint Casimir 032 riviere Ste Anne.jpg, Sainte-Anne River, sedimentary rocks, Trenton Group limestones, rock faces File:Saint_Casimir_030.jpg, Small tributary of the Sainte-Anne River at its exit from the cave of Trou du diable, a few meters from its mouth File:2021_03_20_091_St_Casimir_rural.jpg, Agricultural zone, boulevard de la Montagne, Roads

354 __NOTOC__ Year 354 ( CCCLIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Constantius (or, less frequently, year 1107 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomin ...

363 __NOTOC__ Year 363 ( CCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Iulianus and Sallustius (or, less frequently, year 1116 ''Ab urbe condita''). The ...

File:Saint_Casimir_014.jpg, Agricultural zone, Roads 354 & 363 (Route des

Grondines Deschambault-Grondines () is a municipality located in the Portneuf Regional County Municipality (RCM), in the Capitale-Nationale region, Quebec, Canada. Deschambault-Grondines was created in 2002 by the merger of the villages of Deschambault a ...

) File:Saint_Casimir_031.jpg, Rue Tessier (Quebec Road 354), bridge p 16132, on Niagarette River File: 19950224_3555_2350_Trou_du_Diable.jpg , Upstream entrance to the cave of the

Devil's Hole Devils Hole is a geologic formation located in a detached unit of Death Valley National Park and surrounded by the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, in Nye County, Nevada, in the Southwestern United States. Devils Hole is habitat for the o ...

References

External links

St. Casimir's Family and Seniors Policy
Collection BAnQ, September 9, 2013 (in French)
Station Météo St-Casimir

Photos Saint-Casimir St-Casimir Photo Gallery

Cultural Rendez-vous of St-Casimir (french)

Auberge du Couvent (french)

{{authority control Municipalities in Quebec Incorporated places in Capitale-Nationale