Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan () is a parish municipality in the

Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making tourism in Mauricie popular. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km2 (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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 ...

. This municipality is part of the

Les Chenaux Regional County Municipality Les Chenaux (, meaning ''the channels'' in French) is a regional county municipality in central Quebec, Canada, in the Mauricie region. The seat is in Saint-Luc-de-Vincennes. It is located adjacent on the east of Trois-Rivières on the Saint Lawr ...

Batiscanie Batiscanie, a vernacular name, of a territory located in the Mauricie region, divided between the RCMs of Les Chenaux, Portneuf and Mékinac, in Quebec, Canada. The name Batiscanie evokes, without geopositioning it, the territory of the Bati ...

and in the administrative region of

. It is located along the

Batiscan River Batiscan River () has its source in the region of Lac Édouard, in the Laurentians Mountains, the Batiscan River flows over a length of 177 km. It receives water from numerous tributaries, including, in its upper reach, the Rivière aux É ...

. The town of Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan was the seat of the

Lordship of Batiscan The Seigneurie of Batiscan was located on, and included 1/2 ''lieue'' of frontage along, the north shore of the St. Lawrence River (between the mouth of the Batiscan River and the Champlain River, in the current administrative area the Maurici ...

from 1665 and Champlain

County A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

from 1855 to 1981. During the first centuries of its history, the economy of the area has been focused on forestry, agriculture, fishing and river transport. Sainte-Geneviève was also a prominent center of trade for the Batiscanie. Initially, the Catholic parish was named in honour of Saint

Genevieve Genevieve (; ; also called ''Genovefa'' and ''Genofeva''; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) was a consecrated virgin, and is one of the two patron saints of Paris in the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. Her feast day is on 3 January. Rec ...

, patron saint of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the city of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, the largest French-speaking city in the world. In France, the French patron saint is also the Diocese of

Nanterre Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, b ...

and gendarmes. The name "

Batiscan Batiscan (or Batisquan) was a chief of the Algonquin people in the area of Trois-Rivières, Quebec around 1610 to 1629. He met the explorer Samuel de Champlain upon his return to Quebec in 1610 and held a feast for him. In 1611, Samuel de Champla ...

" was derived from the chief of the

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

people from around 1610 to 1629, for whom the river was named after.

History

The municipality of Sainte-Genevieve de Batiscan was erected May 11, 1841 in the southeastern part of the

under the Act 8 Vict. chap. 40, in July 1845. The territory of municipality of Sainte-Geneviève was detached from the parishes of Saint-François-Xavier-de-Batiscan and La Visitation de Champlain.

Catholic Parish

The civil records of Sainte-Genevieve de Batiscan start in July 1727 and are administered by the neighboring parish of Saint-François-Xavier-de-Batiscan up to the canonical erection of the Catholic parish of Sainte-Genevieve de Batiscan, which occurred on August 16, 1833. This Catholic parish falls within the

Diocese of Trois-Rivières In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

. A priest or a pastor serving resides since 1728.

Geography

The main village is situated on the northeast shore of the Batiscan River at the confluence of the Veillet River, while a small village is located just opposite, on the south-west. The village center is located about from the mouth of the Batiscan River and from the Batiscan railway station, on the former

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

line (now run in this area by

Quebec Gatineau Railway Chemins de fer Québec-Gatineau Inc. (CFQG), in English the Quebec Gatineau Railway is a shortline railway operating the long ex-Canadian Pacific Railway line between Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, Laval, Lachute and Gatineau, formerly Hull ...

). The Batiscan River through the village and splits into two parts. The agricultural area of Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan stops at the foot of the Saint-Narcisse moraine. It is a mountainous line in the east-west direction, between Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan with Saint-Stanislas and

Saint-Narcisse Saint-Narcisse () is a parish municipality located in the regional county municipality (MRC) Chenaux, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. Located on the North Shore of the Saint Lawrence River, about ...

. Most of Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan is included in the Batiscanie, except for two areas: one in the east, at the limit of

Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade () is a municipality located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, in Les Chenaux Regional County Municipality, Les Chenaux RCM, Mauricie region, Quebec, Canada. History On October 29, 1672, an area of 1.5 Fre ...

, and the other to the southwest, near the limit of Saint-Luc-de-Vincennes.

Demographics

Population

In the

2021 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 Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan 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. Private dwellings occupied by usual residents (2021): 514 (total dwellings: 571)

Government

Regional Administration

From 1855 to 1982, the city was the seat of Champlain County. In 1982, the old county system was reformulated into the new

regional county municipality The term regional county municipality or RCM (, , MRC) is used in Quebec, Canada to refer to one of 87 county-like political entities. In some older English translations they were called county regional municipality. Regional county municipalit ...

(RCM) system, with Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan becoming part of the Francheville RCM. On December 31, 2001, it was transferred from the Francheville RCM to the new Les Chenaux RCM, following the creation of the new City 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 ...

and the dissolution of the Francheville RCM.

Photos

File:Ste_Genevieve_Batiscan_175.jpg, Adapted social housing, alterations to the church, Principale Street File:Ste_Genevieve_Batiscan_172.jpg, Principale Street File:Ste_Genevieve_Batiscan_177.jpg, Bridge 16746 over the Rivière à Veillet, Principale Street File:Ste_Genevieve_Batiscan_183.jpg, Sainte-Geneviève Street File:Ste_Genevieve_Batiscan_187.jpg, St. Joseph Street

Notable people

* Jacques J. Bouchard

References

Mediagraphy

#. #Municipalité de Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan: . #Municipalité régionale de comté (MRC) des Chenaux: . # Massicotte, Édouard-Zotique. ''Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan'',

, Éditions du Bien public, 1936, 131 pages (Collection «Pages trifluviennes», série A, no 18). #Rivard, Raymond, ''Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan, 1833-1983'', Sherbrooke, Albums souvenirs québécois, 1983. 160 pages. #''Répertoire des mariages de Sainte Geneviève de Batiscan 1727 à 1900'', written by Dominique Campagna, 128 pages. #''Répertoire des sépultures de Sainte Geneviève de Batiscan 1727 à 1984'', 1985, published by "La Société historique de Sainte Geneviève de Batiscan inc". {{DEFAULTSORT:Sainte-Genevieve-de-Batiscan, Quebec Parish municipalities in Quebec Incorporated places in Mauricie Les Chenaux Regional County Municipality