Sainte-Pétronille () is a

village municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

in the

L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality L'Île-d'Orléans () is a regional county municipality in central Quebec, Canada, in the Capitale-Nationale region. Its seat is Sainte-Famille-de-l'Île-d'Orléans. The population in the 2016 census was 7,082 people. The RCM consists solely of ...

in the

Capitale-Nationale Capitale-Nationale (; ) is one of the 17 administrative regions of Quebec. It is anchored by the provincial capital, Quebec City, and is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. It has a land area of 18,684.78 km2. It reported ...

region 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 situated on the south-western tip of Orléans Island, facing

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 ...

. Former notable residents include the Boswell family, who owned the Boswell Brewery in Quebec City from 1843 to 1952, and painter

Horatio Walker Horatio Walker LL.D. (May 12, 1858 – September 27, 1938) was a Canadians, Canadian painter. He worked in Oil painting, oils and watercolour painting, watercolours, often depicting scenes of rural life in Canada. He was influenced by the ...

, whose workshop remains.

History

In 1651, Jesuit missionaries came to the island and established a mission for

Huron Indians The Wyandot people (also Wyandotte, Wendat, Waⁿdát, or Huron) are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of the present-day United States and Canada. Their Wyandot language belongs to the Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian language f ...

who were displaced by attacking

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

. In 1759, General

James Wolfe Major-general James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of ...

installed his headquarters there to monitor Quebec City and the two river channels of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

. After his victory at the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe the North American theatre). The battle, which took place on 13 Sept ...

, the area became inhabited by well-to-do English colonists who were attracted by its romantic landscapes and its renowned microclimate. Consequently the cottage-style houses and garden landscaping gave the place a decidedly English character. Since the topography was not well-suited for agriculture, the place became a fashionable summer resort by the mid 19th century. Hundreds of daytrippers would travel to Sainte-Pétronille by ferry for a Sunday stroll. In 1868, it became home to North America's first

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

, a three-hole course. The religious parish of Sainte-Pétronille de Beaulieu was formed in 1870, named after

Saint Petronilla Petronilla (Aurelia Petronilla) is an early Christian saint. She is venerated as a virgin by the Catholic Church. She died in Rome at the end of the 1st century, or possibly in the 3rd century. Identity Petronilla was traditionally identified ...

(a Roman martyr of the first century), and honouring Jacques Gourdeau, sieur de Beaulieu et de la Grossardière, feudal lord of the area in the mid-17th century. The post office opened a year later under the name Beaulieu. In 1874, the Village Municipality of Beaulieu was established by separating from Saint-Pierre, becoming the youngest of the 6 municipalities on Orleans Island. Since the village itself was almost exclusively called Sainte-Pétronille in common use, the municipality was renamed to its current name in 1980. The post office followed suit in 1991.

Demographics

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-Pétronille 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.

Local government

List of former mayors: * Jacques Grisé (2001–2009) * Harold Noël (2009–present)

References

External links

Île d'Orléans - Sainte-Pétronille portrait
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainte-Petronille, Quebec Incorporated places in Capitale-Nationale Villages in Quebec L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality

History

Demographics

Local government

See also

References

External links