Pain Court, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Pain Court, often incorrectly spelled Paincourt, is an agricultural village
in southwestern Ontario
, Canada
, in the municipality of Chatham-Kent
. It was established in 1854, as one of the earliest French-speaking settlements in southern Ontario. Pain Court was founded when English and French-speaking squatters from the Detroit, Michigan
area began to settle the Indian lands along the lower Thames River
in the region in the 1780s. It derived its name from the small loaves of bread which the impoverished parishioners offered to Roman Catholic missionaries.
By the 1820s in the nearby "Pain Court Block", one of the earliest French-speaking (franco-ontarian
) communities in southern Ontario had developed. Named "Pain Court" by Catholic
missionaries in reference to the small loaves of bread which was all the impoverished parishioners could offer, the settlement was surveyed in 1829. In 1852 a chapel was built and two years later construction of a church commenced. It quickly became the cultural and educational centre of French-speaking Catholics in the area. By 1866 when a post office was established, a small village had developed.
Joseph Caron
, the former Canadian High Commissioner to India was raised in Pain Court.
) school. École Sainte-Catherine is a very small elementary school located directly across the street from its sister school, École secondaire de Pain Court, a small high school with approximately 300 students.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in southwestern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, in the municipality of Chatham-Kent
Chatham-Kent, Ontario
Chatham–Kent is a unitary authority in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Mostly rural, its centres of population are Blenheim, Chatham, Dresden, Ridgetown, Tilbury and Wallaceburg. Modern Chatham–Kent was created in 1998 by the merger of Kent County and its municipalities.- History :The former city of...
. It was established in 1854, as one of the earliest French-speaking settlements in southern Ontario. Pain Court was founded when English and French-speaking squatters from the Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
area began to settle the Indian lands along the lower Thames River
Thames River (Ontario)
The Thames River is located in southwestern Ontario, Canada.The Thames flows west through southwestern Ontario, through the cities of Woodstock, London and Chatham to Lighthouse Cove on Lake St. Clair...
in the region in the 1780s. It derived its name from the small loaves of bread which the impoverished parishioners offered to Roman Catholic missionaries.
By the 1820s in the nearby "Pain Court Block", one of the earliest French-speaking (franco-ontarian
Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canadian province of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....
) communities in southern Ontario had developed. Named "Pain Court" by Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
missionaries in reference to the small loaves of bread which was all the impoverished parishioners could offer, the settlement was surveyed in 1829. In 1852 a chapel was built and two years later construction of a church commenced. It quickly became the cultural and educational centre of French-speaking Catholics in the area. By 1866 when a post office was established, a small village had developed.
Joseph Caron
Joseph Caron
Joseph Caron is a former Canadian High Commissioner to India and former Canadian Ambassador to China and Japan. Born and raised in the small francophone agricultural village of Pain Court in South-western Ontario , Caron attended the University of Ottawa Joseph Caron (born 1947) is a former...
, the former Canadian High Commissioner to India was raised in Pain Court.
Education
Pain Court has an elementary and a secondary French-language (francophoneFrancophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
) school. École Sainte-Catherine is a very small elementary school located directly across the street from its sister school, École secondaire de Pain Court, a small high school with approximately 300 students.
Wildlife
Just west of Pain Court, on the shores of Lake St. Clair, an Environment Canada National Wildlife Area (St. Clair NWA) provides a variety of migrating birds with wetland habitat of international importance. It is one of only 51 such sites in Canada.External links
- Pain Court 150
- Ontario Heritage Trust / Pain Court
- Historic Plaque of Pain Court
- Ecole secondaire de Pain Court / Pain Court Secondary School
- Pain Court Catholic Parish - Immaculate Conception
- St. Clair National Wildlife Area
- Club de l'amitié de Pain Court et Club d'âge d'or
- Cultural Group for Chatham-Kent francophones La Girouette
- Franco-ontarian women's group for Windsor and Pain Court
- Pain Court at Geographical Names of Canada