Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury is a
united townshipThe term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. However in some systems no town needs to be involved. The specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semi-rural government within the county...
in the
CanadianCanada 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...
province of
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, located in the
regional county municipalityFollowing is a list of the regional county municipalities and equivalent territories in the province of Quebec, Canada, as of January 2007...
of
La Jacques-CartierLa Jacques-Cartier is a regional county municipality in northeastern Quebec, Canada. It is located in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec. The seat is in Shannon...
north of
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
. Its main attraction is the Stoneham Mountain Resort.
The large territory of the municipality is only developed and inhabited in the south, where the population centres of Saint-Adolphe, Stoneham, and Tewkesbury are located. Large portions of the north are included in the
Jacques-Cartier National ParkJacques-Cartier National Park is a provincial park located 50 km north of Quebec City. The park has the mission of protecting a representative territory of the Laurentian massif.It is quite close to Canadian Forces Military Base Valcartier...
and the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve. The terrain is hilly, part of the
Laurentian MountainsThe Laurentian Mountains are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of 1166 metres at Mont Raoul Blanchard, north east of Quebec City in the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides. The Gatineau, L'Assomption, Lièvre,...
, and crossed by the
Jacques-CartierThe Jacques-Cartier River is a river in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is 161 km long and its source is Jacques-Cartier Lake in Laurentides Wildlife Reserve, and flows in a predominantly southern direction before ending in the Saint Lawrence River at Donnacona, about 30 km upstream...
, upper
Sainte-AnneThe Sainte-Anne River is a river in the province of Québec; it is a tributary of the St. Lawrence River.It is well known for ice fishing, with the primary catch being Tommy Cod, , during the winter at Ste-Anne de la Pérade...
, and Hurons Rivers. Some of the more notable lakes are Beaumont, Saint-Vincent, and Saint-Guillaume.
History
In 1792, Philip Toosey was granted some 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) of land that formed the beginning of the village that he named Stoneham after the
namesake village in Suffolk, EnglandMid Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England. Its council is based in Needham Market, and the largest town is Stowmarket.The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the Borough of Eye, Stowmarket urban district, Gipping Rural District, Hartismere Rural District and...
, where he came from. That same year, the toponyms of the geographic townships of Stoneham and Tewkesbury appeared. Tewkesbury may be attributed to Kenelm Chandler who was born in
TewkesburyTewkesbury is a town in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook...
, England, arrived in 1764 and was granted 9713 hectares of land in Stoneham in 1800.
The first influx of Irish, English, and Scottish settlers came in 1815. By 1831, its population had passed 175. In 1845, the Stoneham Municipality was formed and abolished in 1847. In 1850, the Parish of Saint-Edmond-de-Stoneham was formed, named after
Edmund RichEdmund Rich was a 13th century Archbishop of Canterbury in England...
of Canterbury (1170-1240). The Stoneham Post Office opened in 1854. A year later on July 1, the United Township Municipality of Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury was established, populated by about 25 families.
In 1871, its population had grown to 640 (360 in Stoneham township and 280 in Tewkesbury township). In 1880, the Tewkesbury Post Office opened (and closed in 1963). The completion of the railroad, owned by the St. Charles and Huron River Railway Company, between Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury and Loretteville in 1912 led to intensive logging in the area. Timber was floated down the Hurons River to Stoneham from where it was brought by rail to
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
. The railway was also used to transport cargo and wood pulp of the Brown Corporation and the Donnacona Paper Company. By 1920, the place had become an important commercial center of northern Quebec.
In 1973, the neighbouring municipality of Saint-Adolphe was annexed into Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury, making it one of the largest municipalities in Quebec at that time.
Demographics
Population trend:
- Population in 2006: 5866 (2001 to 2006 population change: 11.4 %)
- Population in 2001: 5266
- Population in 1996: 4842
- Population in 1991: 4384
Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 2360 (total dwellings: 2948)
Mother tongue:
- English as first language: 2.2 %
- French as first language: 95.4 %
- English and French as first language: 1.3 %
- Other as first language: 1.1 %
List of mayors
- Edmond Bureau, 1938-1940
- John Payne, 1940-1944
- Philppe Plamondon 1944-1947
- John Payne, 1947-1948
- Sydney McCune, 1948-1975
- Jean-Guy Vézina, 1975-1976
- Raymond Labrecque, 1976-1980
- Rodrigue Harvey, 1980-1990
- Jacques Nolin, 1990-1994
- Dany Barbeau, 1994-2005
- Gaétane G. St-Laurent, 2005-2009
- Robert Miller, 2009-
External links