Saint-Pamphile, Quebec

Saint-Pamphile
City
Location within L'Islet RCM. Location within L'Islet RCM.
Saint-Pamphile Location in southern Quebec.
Coordinates:
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Chaudière-Appalaches
RCM	L'Islet
Constituted	21 January 1888
Government
• Mayor	Réal Laverdière (2009-2013)
• Federal riding	Montmagny—L'Islet— Kamouraska—Rivière- du-Loup
• Prov. riding	Côte-du-Sud
Area
• Total	137.90 km2 (53.24 sq mi)
• Land	137.21 km2 (52.98 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	2,685
• Density	19.6/km2 (51/sq mi)
• Pop 2006-2011	0.7%
• Dwellings	1,281
Demonym(s)	Pamphilien(ne)
Time zone	EST (UTC−5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s)	G0R 3X0
Area code(s)	418 and 581
Highways	Route 204
Website	www.saintpamphile.ca

Saint-Pamphile is a town in Quebec situated in the L'Islet Regional County Municipality in the Chaudière-Appalaches administrative district. While the official municipal territory ends at the US-Canada border located at the eastern end of town, there is a tiny hamlet located immediately east of the border, known as St-Pamphile, Maine. The hamlet is historically part of the larger entity located in Quebec and is considered integral part of the town by locals. The economy of St-Pamphile, Maine is entirely dependent upon the economy of St-Pamphile, Quebec, from which Maine residents obtain goods and services, and sometimes even employment. Saint-Pamphile, Quebec is the central town of 7 neighboring parishes, and provides a CLSC, elementary school, and high school for the area.

History

The first settler in the town was Frédéric Vaillancourt from the nearby Saint-Aubert municipality in the year 1859. Given that the surrounding land appeared to be fertile amongst a mostly rocky landscape, many settlers followed his lead, and in 1870, Saint-Pamphile became a parish. In 1889, the area was officially declared a municipality. It wasn't until 1963 that Saint-Pamphile was granted the legal status of city.

The community was named in tribute to Pamphile-Gaspard Verreault, a notary who represented L'Islet in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1867 to 1878.

Demographics

In 2011, the population was 2685, and the density was 19.6 people per km². This is a significant drop from 2005, when the population was 2804.

Economy

The main economic activity of the region is timber. There are two major companies present who deal with raw materials: Maibec and Matériaux Blanchet.

Tourism

The lumberjack festival is always held in the last full weekend of August. It showcases a variety of sporting activities that call to mind the dominance of forestry in the region. At the event, one may watch forestry competitions and shows (comedy, music, dance, among others) Other activities include barbecues, picnics, golf tournaments, and so on, and the gathering attracts more than 25,000 visitors annually.

In mid-February, another event takes place in St-Pamphile, known as the Appalachian Odyssey. It attracts a large number of mushers for dog sled races, the longest trail for which is some 200 kilometres (120 mi) long and crosses each of the seven parishes in the county. In addition to the dog sled tracks, there are also many other competitions during the event. This annual event gains popularity every year.

See also

• List of municipalities in Quebec