Saint-Élie-de-Caxton is a municipality in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada.

Saint-Élie-de-Caxton
Motto(s): 
Ensemble vers l'avenir
("Together towards the future")
Location within Maskinongé RCM.
Location within Maskinongé RCM.
Saint-Élie-de-Caxton is located in Central Quebec
Saint-Élie-de-Caxton
Saint-Élie-de-Caxton
Location in central Quebec.
Coordinates: 46°29′N 72°58′W / 46.483°N 72.967°W / 46.483; -72.967[1]
Country Canada
Province Quebec
RegionMauricie
RCMMaskinongé
Settled1850s
ConstitutedApril 12, 1865
Government
 • MayorRobert Gauthier
 • Federal ridingBerthier—Maskinongé
 • Prov. ridingMaskinongé
Area
 • Total129.50 km2 (50.00 sq mi)
 • Land117.91 km2 (45.53 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[3]
 • Total1,676
 • Density14.2/km2 (37/sq mi)
 • Pop 2006-2011
Steady 0.0%
 • Dwellings
1,130
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)
Area code819
Highways R-351
Websitewww.st-elie-
de-caxton.com

Before January 15, 2005 it was known simply as Saint-Élie.[4]

Located in the foothills of the Laurentian Mountains, its territory is dotted with lakes. The more prominent lakes are Des Souris, Goulet, and Grand Long Lakes, which are densely lined with summer cottages.

Storyteller and musician Fred Pellerin was born in Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, which is the setting of many of his published stories.[5]

History edit

 
Street signs with lutins on the top.

The Gale and Duberger Map of 1795 already identified the area as Caxton Township, named after an English village situated about 15 kilometers from Cambridge. In 1839, it was officially formed as a geographic township.[6]

Colonization of Caxton Township was delayed because the land sold in 1833 was not yet allocated, with the owners apparently missing. In 1863, it had only 30 families. Two years later in 1865, the Parish and the Parish Municipality of Saint-Élie was formed. It got its name from Joseph-Élie-Sylvestre Sirois-Duplessis (1795–1878), parish priest of Saint-Basile-de-Madawaska (1826–1831), Saint-Stanislas-de-Champlain (1831–1846), and Saint-Barnabé-de-Saint-Maurice (1846–1865), and also one of the first priests of Saint-Élie.[1]

In 1872, the Saint-Élie post office opened.[1]

On December 31, 2001, Saint-Élie was transferred from the Centre-de-la-Mauricie RCM to the Maskinongé RCM, following the formation of the new City of Shawinigan and the dissolution of the Centre-de-la-Mauricie RCM. On January 15, 2005, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Élie became the Municipality of Saint-Élie-de-Caxton.[1]

Demographics edit

Population trend:[7]

  • Population in 2011: 1676 (2006 to 2011 population change: 0.0%)
  • Population in 2006: 1676
  • Population in 2001: 1541
  • Population in 1996: 1455
  • Population in 1991: 1382

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 766 (total dwellings: 1130)

Mother tongue:

  • English as first language: 3.0%
  • French as first language: 95.5%
  • English and French as first language: 0%
  • Other as first language: 1.5%

List of mayors edit

The mayor is the municipality's highest elected official.[8] Officially, mayoral elections in Saint-Élie-de-Caxton are on a non-partisan basis.

# Mayor Took office Left office
1 Calixte Bellefeuille 1868 1870
2 Alexandre Lefebvre 1870 1872
3 Frédéric Pellerin 1872 1874
4 Pierre Gagnon 1874 1878
5 Héraclée Beaulieu 1878 1880
6 Joseph Matteau 1880 1881
7 Narcisse Auger 1881 1884
8 Joseph Matteau 1884 1889
9 Pierre Deschênes 1889 1890
10 Alexis Blanchette 1887 1890
11 Élie Héroux 1890 1892
4 Pierre Gagnon 1892 1893
5 Héraclée Beaulieu 1893 1897
12 Narcisse Beaulieu 1897 1898
13 Bélonie Garceau 1898 1899
14 Israël Deschênes 1899 1902
15 Joseph Deschênes 1902 1903
16 Édouard Carufel 1903 1906
17 Philippe Beauchemin 1906 1907
18 Majorique Lafrenière 1907 1909
19 Évariste Beaulieu 1909 1910
20 Paul Garceau 1910 1913
21 Odilon Lamy 1913 1916
22 Elzéard Rivard 1916 1920
23 Edmond Grenier 1920 1921
22 Elzéard Rivard 1921 1923
24 Napoléon Pellerin 1923 1931
25 Arthur Philibert 1931 1933
26 Alfred Gélinas 1933 1935
27 Edmond Samson 1935 1937
28 Nérée Guillemette 1937 1938
29 Zéphirin Garceau 1938 1939
30 Elzéard Rivard 1939 1945
31 Lucien F. Garant 1945 1953
32 William Lafrenière 1953 1961
33 Roland Legris 1961 1965
34 Eugène Philibert 1965 1968
33 Roland Legris 1968 1987
35 Jean-Claude Grenier 1987 1989
36 André Garant [9] 1989 2001
37 Agathe Lampron 2001 2005
36 André Garant 2005 2013
38 Réjean Audet 2013 2017
39 Robert Gauthier 2017 Current

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Saint-Élie-de-Caxton (Municipalité)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
  2. ^ a b "Répertoire des municipalités: Geographic code 51075". www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation.
  3. ^ a b "Saint-Élie-de-Caxton (Code 2451075) Census Profile". 2011 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada.
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). stat.gouv.qc.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2006. Retrieved 30 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Fred Pellerin nous amène à Saint-Élie-de-Caxton". Ici Radio-Canada, November 23, 2015.
  6. ^ "Caxton (canton)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
  7. ^ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census
  8. ^ Source: Odette Villemure, Municipality of Saint-Élie-de-Caxton
  9. ^ In the late 1990s, André Garant served as prefect of the Regional County Municipality of Centre-de-la-Mauricie. See: MRC du Haut Saint-Maurice, Schéma d'aménagement révisé, Main Document, November 1999, Volume 1 Archived 2007-10-18 at the Wayback Machine