Lanaudière
In the 1760s and 1770s, Lanaudière welcomed many families. Some arrived directly from Acadia, while others returned from exile in Massachusetts, Connecticut, or France. The Acadians were welcomed into the seigneury of Saint-Sulpice, more specifically in L'Assomption. The priest-lords offered them favorable conditions for settlement, including providing them with farm implements, animals, food, and land along the L'Assomption and Achigan rivers. Spontaneously, the refugees named this place New Acadia. After their return from exile, several marriages and baptisms were revalidated in L'Assomption, as evidenced by the parish records.
These Acadians founded Saint-Jacques-de-la-Nouvelle-Acadie in 1772. In the 19th century, this area was divided into four parishes. This led to the development of Saint-Jacques, Saint-Alexis, Saint-Liguori, and Sainte-Marie-Salomé, a region of Lanaudière that is still fondly referred to as Nouvelle-Acadie. Sainte-Marie-Salomé has the highest percentage of people of Acadian descent in the region, estimated at over 70%.
The regional symbol of Lanaudière refers to the traditional arrowhead sash known as L'Assomption, a sash whose manufacture has earned the reputation of many Acadian weavers.
Pioneer families still present today include theBourgeois, Brault, Dugas, Dupuis, Forest, Gaudet, Granger, Lanoue, Landry, Leblanc, Lord, Martin, Melançon, Mireault (Amirault), Richard, andThibodeau families.
Please click on a name in the list below to go directly to its designated section.
Lanoraie
Louis-Joseph Doucet (1874–1959)
Personality
Louis-Joseph Doucet, poet and storyteller, was born in Lanoraie. At the age of 28, he was admitted to the renowned École littéraire de Montréal. Beginning in 1910, he published more than 30 collections of prose and poetry, not counting the 50,000 verses scattered throughout various periodicals. In 1923, he helped found the Société des poètes. In 1924, the Société des arts, des sciences et des lettres, the École littéraire de Montréal, and the Société des poètes awarded him the title of Prince of Poets of French Canada.
His collections have been distributed in Quebec schools, and some of his poems have been set to music. Numerous documents concerning his life and works are held in the Louis-Joseph Doucet Collection at the Archives Lanaudière and at the University of Michigan Library.
Louis-Joseph Doucet died in Montreal at the age of 84. In 1974, ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of his birth were held in Montreal and Lanoraie. A street in each of these cities bears his name. An interpretive panel about the prince of poets is part of the Lanoraie heritage trail.
Text written or compiled by the Acadian Museum of Quebec.
Louis-Joseph Doucet plaque
Place of interest
9 Louis-Joseph-Doucet Street
In 1974, a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of Louis-Joseph Doucet's birth was held in Lanoraie. A commemorative plaque was affixed to his house. Many people attended the event. Several poets, including Gaston Miron, gave laudatory speeches about the impressive and magnificent work of the prince of Quebec poets.
Here lived Louis-Joseph Doucet, first Prince of Canadian Poets, 1874–1959.
The Lanoraie-Dautray Historical Society. The Society of French Canadian Poets. The Society of Canadian Writers. The Friends of Louis-Joseph Doucet.
Text written or compiled by the Acadian Museum of Quebec.
Saint Mary Salome
The ties that bind Sainte-Marie-Salomé to its motherland, Acadia, are filial. They have woven the fabric of the municipality's history since the arrival of pioneers on the lands of Bas du Ruisseau Vacher in 1767. A total of eleven founding families laid the foundations for a large number of descendants. The first arrivals were all Acadians deported to the colonies of New England (Connecticut and Massachusetts) in 1755.
When the parish separated from its mother parish, Saint-Jacques, in 1888, parishioners chose the name Sainte-Marie-Salomé de Port-Royal for the new parish. Father Viger decided to keep only the name Sainte-Marie-Salomé. Over the years, the people of Salomé have demonstrated their attachment to their Acadian roots. The municipality has the highest percentage of people of Acadian descent in the Lanaudière region, estimated at around 70%. The Acadian flag flies permanently near the Acadian Monument and in front of the municipal hall.
Pride, courage, an innate sense of celebration, and the use of nicknames as a sign of kinship are precious legacies from Acadian ancestors that have endured against all odds. Sainte-Marie-Salomé is distinguished by its abundance of family-related nicknames. In a recent study (2011), more than 250 nicknames were identified.
The population celebrates all the major anniversaries of the deportation with great pomp and circumstance: the bicentennial celebration (1955), the erection of an Acadian monument in memory of the225thanniversary (1981), and a commemorative mass for the250thanniversary (2005).
The residents of Sainte-Marie-Salomé are committed to keeping alive the unbroken link between Acadia and Sainte-Marie-Salomé. Two streets bear mythical names linked to Acadian history: Évangéline Street and Gabriel Street. The municipality's coat of arms recalls its Acadian origins. Against a blue background, it features a golden star, "Maris Stella," patron saint of the Acadian people. Two branches of sinople willow, the emblematic tree of the Acadians, frame the coat of arms. The motto recalls the courage and pride of the pioneers: "Forti animo et alto"reads"With a proud and courageous heart." The memory of the heart remains faithful and unwavering for the people of Sainte-Marie-Salomé.
Text written or compiled by Andrée Mireault
Source: Le Bas du Ruisseau Vacher-Ste-Marie-Salomé, Thérèse Melançon-Mireault, 1986. Nicknames in New Acadia, Philippe Jetté. Rabaska: Journal of Ethnology of French America, Volume 9, 2011, pages 69-90.
Acadian Monument
Place of interest
700 Saint-Jean Road
The Acadian Monument was erected in 1981 in the church grounds to mark the 225th anniversary of the Acadian deportation. This memorial is an eloquent tribute to the memory of the founding families. The inscription on the commemorative plaque represents the courage and tenacity of these Acadian ancestors.
These Acadian pioneers were the Amirault and Mireault families, known as Tourangeau, the Bourgeois family, the Fontaine family, known as Beaulieu, the Gaudet family, the Granger family, the Jansonne and Johnson families, the Lord family, known as Lamontagne, the Martin family, known as Barnabé, the Melançon family, the Richard family, and the Robichaud family.
"We came in 1767 and we stayed."
Tribute to the 27 Acadian families who settled in Bas du Ruisseau Vacher, now Ste-Marie-Salomé de Port-Royal.
225th Anniversary Celebration Committee
Text written or compiled by Andrée Mireault and the Acadian Museum of Quebec
St. James
Following the deportation of the Acadians by the English in 1755, the exiles found themselves in the United States in Connecticut and Massachusetts (near Boston). They traveled up to Portage (L'Assomption) and were welcomed by the Sulpicians, who gave them the lands of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Nouvelle-Acadie, including what is now Nouvelle-Acadie, Rawdon, and parts of Sainte-Julienne, L'Épiphanie, and Crabtree. The first lands granted were those of Ruisseau-Saint-Georges in Saint-Jacques in 1766, followed by those of Bas-du-Ruisseau-Vacher (Sainte-Marie-Salomé) the following year.
Source: Philippe Jetté, "Les surnoms en Nouvelle-Acadie" (Nicknames in New Acadia), Rabaska: Journal of Ethnology of French America, vol. 9, 2011, p.70.
Text written or compiled by Philippe Jetté.
Monument to the Acadian Odyssey
Place of interest
Parc des Cultures, behind the church.
The monument is part of the international commemoration project for the Great Upheaval, led by the Société Nationale de l’Acadie. The aim of this project is to highlight the odyssey of the Acadian people. In 2018, sixteen monuments have already been erected, including five in New Brunswick, three in Nova Scotia, one in Prince Edward Island, one in Newfoundland and Labrador, four in Quebec, one in Louisiana, and one in Miquelon (France).
As part of the Acadian festival, on August 11, 2013, the Municipality of Saint-Jacques officially inaugurated the Acadian Odyssey monument in the presence of numerous citizens, partners, and dignitaries. The monument depicts the mass arrival of Acadians in Lanaudière during the 1760s and 1770s.
This monument is the jewel of the Parc des Cultures. This space also features a plaque for each municipality in New Acadia, telling their respective stories. The community is very proud of its Acadian ancestors. This is a tangible gesture in memory of the men, women, and children who came from Acadia.
Text written or compiled by Diane Robert and the Acadian Museum of Quebec.
The House of New Acadia
Institution
98 Saint-Jacques Street
The Maison de la Nouvelle-Acadie was inaugurated on August 15, 2018. This place is primarily intended to be a place for transmitting Acadian history, from the arrival in Acadia to the founding of the municipality of St-Jacques in 1774. Through a timeline, explanatory panels, and artifacts, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in this fascinating world.
The venue also offers two other rooms that will host temporary exhibitions related to regional or Acadian culture each season.
Culture plays a prominent role in the municipality. This space, located in the heart of the village, will therefore be used to host book launches, exhibitions, and art workshops for the entire population.
Finally, visitors will find all the information they need for a successful stay in the region at the Maison de la Nouvelle-Acadie. Walking tours, visits to fascinating places, and encounters with inspiring people can be arranged.
In 2016, St-Jacques launched its cultural policy. The Maison de la Nouvelle-Acadie helps achieve several objectives related to this policy. It promotes our cultural identity, encourages access to arts and culture, and ensures that arts and culture are agents of tourism development.
Text written or compiled by Isabelle Marsolais and the Acadian Museum of Quebec.
Work: Evangeline
Place of interest
Culture Park, behind the church.
This sculpture is inspired by the fictional heroine Evangeline from the epic poem by American author Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in 1847, which recounts the sad deportation of the Acadian people. During the deportation, Evangeline Bellefontaine of Grand-Pré is separated from her lover, Gabriel Lajeunesse, on their wedding day. She subsequently devoted the rest of her life to searching for Gabriel. She found him by chance several years later on his deathbed in a hospice where she cared for the sick. Gabriel died shortly afterwards in her arms. This sculpture pays tribute to the strength, courage, and faith of the Acadian people through the heroine "Evangeline." Artist: Dominico Di Guglielmo.
Text written or compiled by the Municipality of Saint-Jacques.
Work: The Immigrants
Place of interest
Culture Park, behind the church.
The work Les Immigrants is inspired by "The great deportation, the separation of families, the pain, the heartbreak, the loss." Every deportation and immigration is full of suffering. Families are broken up and people need help and hospitality. This sculpture represents immigrants in the form of a woman with two children who are already very tired.
Text written or compiled by the Municipality of Saint-Jacques.
Work: The Acadian Anchor
Place of interest
Culture Park, behind the church.
The Acadian Anchor stands proud and strong, embodying Acadian identity. Its shape evokes the Cross of Deportation, which commemorates this tragic and painful event forever engraved in the Acadian consciousness. The shape of the anchor also echoes the figure of Jacques Degeay, the priest of Assomption, to whom the inhabitants wanted to show their deep gratitude by naming their new parish Saint-Jacques. The anchor obviously evokes the sea and fishing, but above all, it evokes a ship sailing at full speed with the word Acadia on its flag, which appears on the Acadian insignia just above the Acadian motto, L'union fait la force (Unity is strength). This motto is also reflected in the steel cables that come together to form a stylized infinity symbol representing the strength and persistence of Acadian culture. These cables also evoke the strings of violins, guitars, and banjos, echoing the music that is so present in the lives of Acadians.
Text written or compiled by the Municipality of Saint-Jacques.
Mural 1
Place of interest
57 St-Jacques Street
The mural, measuring 8 x 16 feet, was produced in the summer of 2018 as part of the Nouvelles-Acadie arts symposium.
Created by Katherine Mireault and Patricia Melançon, the work aims to represent a vibrant and joyful Acadia, paying tribute to the musicians and dancers who keep it alive. It features tradition bearer Philippe Jetté, Les Petits Pas Acadiens, and the group La Volée de Castors, among others. This is living heritage!
Text written or compiled by Isabelle Marsolais
The Belzébuth group
Notable people
Belzébuth is a dynamic and festive musical experience, a spark that ignites crowds with the rhythm of spirited and innovative traditional Quebec music that can be enjoyed all year round. Hailing from Lanaudière, the six musicians of the group offer a repertoire brimming with brilliantly revisited folk songs, punctuated by old tunes given a new lease on life and original compositions, all delivered with passion, camaraderie, and enthusiasm.
Pure pleasure at the end of the note, Belzébuth will have you feasting with the tenfold energy of the violin, accordion, mandolin, guitar, bass, percussion, and more! Since 2002, the group has been spreading music and joie de vivre on stages across Quebec, as well as the rest of Canada, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and even Azerbaijan! Let yourself be seduced by this tight-knit, talented, and joyful group, which sets the stage on fire with every performance!
Listening to Suite 8 provides an opportunity to discover the song Paradis sur terre, a tribute to the Acadians of Lanaudière who have kept traditional songs alive. Both touching and lively, this original composition was adopted as the official theme song of the Festival acadien de la Nouvelle-Acadie.
Text written or compiled by Jean-Benoît Landry, Philippe Jetté, and the Acadian Museum of Quebec.
Commemorative wayside cross marking the first Mass
Place of interest
Diagonally across from 2145 Bas-de-l'Église North Road
This wayside cross in Saint-Jacques was erected to commemorate the first Mass celebrated at Charles Forest's home by Father Jacques Degeay in June 1772.
On September 5, 1920, the cross was enhanced with a memorial monument to commemorate this event. A solemn mass was celebrated during the blessing ceremony. The sermon was on the subject of the dispersion of the Acadians. At that time, the cross was aging. It fell shortly after the inauguration. Due to wear and tear, this cross was replaced more than once.
Until the 1960s, the wayside cross served as a place of gathering and prayer during the novena of the month of Mary and for the conjuration of locusts, caterpillars, and tobacco worms. When epidemics were brought under control "thanks" to the novena, people were proud: "Look at that, it's good, we didn't pray for nothing." For them, the wayside cross was a protection, a sign of their trust in God.
Over the years, several other ceremonies have been held at the foot of the wayside cross:
- On June 24, 1932, all the surrounding clergy were present to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the first Mass.
- On August 24 of the same year, Monsignor Joseph-Arsène Richard, a native of Saint-Liguori and founding priest of Verdun, came with Acadians from Louisiana to show them where the Acadian community in Quebec began. A mass was said in front of the cross.
- On July 2, 1955, as part of the bicentennial celebrations of the deportation of the Acadians, a mass was celebrated for the deceased, with the bread bin, known as the first mass, serving as an altar.
- During the parish's bicentennial in 1972, many people gathered at the cross.
- On August 15, 1995, the Forest d'Amérique celebrated Mass there.
The current cross was collectively crafted in 1995 by Gérald Dugas, Marc Lépine, Michel Robichaud, Léo Mireault, and René Drainville. Valéda Plouffe painted the heart. It was said to be Valéda's heart. As for the copper rooster, it was stolen shortly after its installation. The cross was blessed during a sung mass for the reunion of the Chemin du Bas-de-l'Église school in 1996.
In 2007, Gérald Dugas said, "You wouldn't believe how many people stop to read the monument and look at the cross, almost every week."
Text written or compiled by Philippe Jetté and the Acadian Museum of Quebec
Source : Entrevues réalisées par Philippe Jetté auprès de Réjeanne Plouffe, Valéda Plouffe et Gérald Dugas en 2007-2008. Réjeanne Plouffe, Autobiographie, Tome 1, Joliette, Édition Jacques Laroche, 2005, p. 11-13.
Street signs in Acadian colors
Place of interest
Diagonally across from 2145 Bas-de-l'Église North Road
This wayside cross in Saint-Jacques was erected to commemorate the first Mass celebrated at Charles Forest's home by Father Jacques Degeay in June 1772.
On September 5, 1920, the cross was enhanced with a memorial monument to commemorate this event. A solemn mass was celebrated during the blessing ceremony. The sermon was on the subject of the dispersion of the Acadians. At that time, the cross was aging. It fell shortly after the inauguration. Due to wear and tear, this cross was replaced more than once.
Until the 1960s, the wayside cross served as a place of gathering and prayer during the novena of the month of Mary and for the conjuration of locusts, caterpillars, and tobacco worms. When epidemics were brought under control "thanks" to the novena, people were proud: "Look at that, it's good, we didn't pray for nothing." For them, the wayside cross was a protection, a sign of their trust in God.
Over the years, several other ceremonies have been held at the foot of the wayside cross:
- On June 24, 1932, all the surrounding clergy were present to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the first Mass.
- On August 24 of the same year, Monsignor Joseph-Arsène Richard, a native of Saint-Liguori and founding priest of Verdun, came with Acadians from Louisiana to show them where the Acadian community in Quebec began. A mass was said in front of the cross.
- On July 2, 1955, as part of the bicentennial celebrations of the deportation of the Acadians, a mass was celebrated for the deceased, with the bread bin, known as the first mass, serving as an altar.
- During the parish's bicentennial in 1972, many people gathered at the cross.
- On August 15, 1995, the Forest d'Amérique celebrated Mass there.
The current cross was collectively crafted in 1995 by Gérald Dugas, Marc Lépine, Michel Robichaud, Léo Mireault, and René Drainville. Valéda Plouffe painted the heart. It was said to be Valéda's heart. As for the copper rooster, it was stolen shortly after its installation. The cross was blessed during a sung mass for the reunion of the Chemin du Bas-de-l'Église school in 1996.
In 2007, Gérald Dugas said, "You wouldn't believe how many people stop to read the monument and look at the cross, almost every week."
Text written or compiled by Philippe Jetté and the Acadian Museum of Quebec
Source: Interviews conducted by Philippe Jetté with Réjeanne Plouffe, Valéda Plouffe, and Gérald Dugas in 2007–2008. Réjeanne Plouffe, Autobiography, Volume 1, Joliette, Édition Jacques Laroche, 2005, pp. 11–13.
Work: Rooted Hopes
Place of interest
Culture Park, behind the church.
The work draws inspiration from the origins and grandeur of Acadia, with the arrival of tall ships that helped populate America by bringing French settlers. Two aluminum sails, one ten feet long and the other eight feet long, appear to be billowing in the wind. The tragic period of the Acadian people's deportation is represented by the upside-down tree roots, which evoke the symbol of uprooting. The Acadian flag is proudly displayed at the top of the largest sail and appears to be floating, demonstrating the rebirth of Acadian values and commemorating the contribution of its people to American history.
Text written or compiled by the Municipality of Saint-Jacques.
Work: The Crossing
Place of interest
Culture Park, behind the church.
The work is an interpretation of a sailboat with both realistic and stylized forms that emphasizes the quest for the New World and the Acadian Renaissance that unfolded across several territories in North America. It features a stylized boat that evokes both the past (the front of a boat) and, on the other hand, a more geometric shape of the mainsail, with its three spars, representing the modernity embodied by the renaissance of Acadian and Canadian communities. At the helm (the ship's helm is located at the rear) is the Acadian star, guiding the people toward renewal. Birth of French Acadian pride. Artist: Jacques Malo.
Text written or compiled by the Municipality of Saint-Jacques.
Work: The Father's Exile
Place of interest
Culture Park, behind the church.
Plunged into deep distress caused by her husband being forcibly taken aboard a ship that will deport him, a mother forgets her pain to comfort her child. She tries in vain to comfort him by holding him close to her body. Leaning over him to envelop him more tightly and protect him from those who oppress them, she wishes he were still a fetus, so that no one could take away the only being she has left. While the mother puts her resentment aside, the child, his eyes blurred with tears, watches the boat carrying his father away to the ship that will take him into exile, from which he must not return. The clothing corresponds to that worn by the victims of this dark period, so that the sculpted work is truly representative of the tragedy. Artist: Gilles Lauzé.
Text written or compiled by the Municipality of Saint-Jacques.
Mural 2
Place of interest
83 St-Jacques Street
The mural, measuring 8 x 16 feet, was produced in the summer of 2018 by artists Guy Roy, Martine Cloutier, and Maurice Lépine as part of the Nouvelles-Acadie arts symposium.
Against a backdrop of the Acadian flag, almost all the elements representing the history of Acadia can be found: the cross, water, boats, the village, soldiers, people, musical instruments. Different emotions can be read on the faces of the characters. The work emphasizes the importance of music and noise, even today, with the Tintamarre.
Text written or compiled by Isabelle Marsolais
Work: Maris Stella
Place of interest
Culture Park, behind the church.
Inspired by the Acadian national anthem, Ave Maris Stella, this project depicts a stylized pregnant woman (bearer of the country) with her hands raised to the sky and her gaze turned downward. She wears a conical hat (the pineal gland, seat of the soul) on which the star appears in relief. Reaching toward the sky, she represents Maris Stella, the soul of the Acadian people, carrying courage, hope, and the future. Artist: Marie-Josée Leroux.
Text written or compiled by the Municipality of Saint-Jacques.
Saint-Liguori
Acadian Memorial
Place of interest
Acadian Park, corner of Richard and Main Streets
The Acadian memorial, designed by artist Cajetan Larochelle, was inaugurated on November 18, 2012, to honor the memory of the Acadian founders of Saint-Liguori. The project was made possible thanks to the participation of the municipality, the first Saint-Liguori Festival committee, and the Corporation du Festival acadien de la Nouvelle-Acadie.
The memorial is an anchor boat facing east, toward Acadia.
About ten years after the Acadian deportation of 1755, brave Acadians left Connecticut and founded New Acadia.
From waves of exodus to furrows to be sown, this boat equipped with a plowshare is carried by Christian hope.
Text written or compiled by the Acadian Museum of Quebec
Acadian Festival of New Acadia
Event
750 Main Street
The Acadian Festival of New Acadia has been around since 2003. This non-profit organization serves the areas of Saint-Alexis, Saint-Jacques, Saint-Liguori, and Sainte-Marie-Salomé with the goal of promoting Acadian culture in Lanaudière. Its mission is to organize a cultural event to raise awareness of the Acadian origins of several communities in Lanaudière. The festival takes place around August 15. Activities are held in all four municipalities, and the highlight of the week-long celebration is the colorful and noisy tintamarre (noise parade) on the Saturday before August 15.
Text written or compiled by Évangéline Richardet and the Acadian Museum of Quebec
Saint-Marcelline-de-Kildare
Bélanger Arrowhead House
Institution
810, 10th South Row
The Maison du fléché Bélanger offers a permanent exhibition on fléché weaving. You will discover the long journey of a fléché belt that traveled around the world before developing in the Lanaudière region. Its history is accompanied by numerous artifacts that illustrate this journey, including a traditional belt known as L'Assomption. Artisan Pierre Bélanger (1942-1986) was one of the co-founders of the Association des artisans de ceintures fléchées de Lanaudière (Lanaudière Arrowhead Belt Artisans Association). He promoted arrowhead weaving as a symbol of Lanaudière. Without him, traditional arrowhead weaving would have been lost; he brought it back into favor in Quebec.
Text written or compiled by Joanne Renaud and the Acadian Museum of Quebec
Arrowhead belt craftswomen
Personality
Fléché is a finger-weaving technique unique to Quebec. The traditional fléchée belt known as L’Assomption, with its lightning bolt and flame motifs, is linked to the Acadian history of Lanaudière, since it was the craftswomen of Saint-Jacques, Sainte-Marie-Salomé, and Saint-Liguori who wove most of the belts (1820–1910). Entire families participated in their production. Only the best artisans wove the Acadienne, made of two L'Assomption belts, notably Marie Gaudet (1854-1932) and Élisabeth Mireault (1866-1943). In 2013, the Société québécoise d’ethnologie paid tribute to the artisans of Lanaudière who contribute to the continuity of this craft, passed down from generation to generation. The L’Assomption belt is recognized as one of the most beautiful weavings in the world.
Text written or compiled by the Acadian Museum of Quebec.
Saint-Jean-de-Matha
Louis Cyr House
Institution
215 Sainte-Louise Street
The Saint-Jean-de-Matha Chamber of Commerce opened the Louis Cyr Museum in 1995 in a small space adjacent to City Hall. In 1997, a new organizationcalled Les Compagnons de Louis Cyr tookover and made it its mission to perpetuate the memory of the strongest man in the world.
In 2011, the organization purchased a house built and inhabited by Louis Cyr and restored this heritage residence dating back to 1902. Opened in the summer of 2014, the Maison Louis-Cyr presents a brand new exhibition on the life of this Canadian Samson, as he was nicknamed at the time. In addition, Donat Gadoury, the contemporary strongman of Saint-Jean-de-Matha, occupies a prominent place there. The Maison Louis-Cyr also serves as a cultural space open to artists and artisans from the region.
Text written or compiled by the Acadian Museum of Quebec
Statue of Louis Cyr
Place of interest
Cyprien Noé Cyr, known as Louis Cyr, was born on October 10, 1863, in Saint-Cyprien-de-Napierville. He died in St-Jean-de-Matha in 1912.
The "Canadian Samson," as he was nicknamed at the time, dazzled crowds with several spectacular feats of strength. This prodigious strength led him to a career as an international strength athlete.
The statue of Louis Cyr, made from a cement mold and created by sculptor Jules La Salle, stands at the corner of Sainte-Louise and Lessard Streets, in Louis-Cyr Park, across from the church.
Text written or compiled by Diane Robert and the Acadian Museum of Quebec.
Louis Cyr (1863–1912)
Personality
Louis Cyr is considered a true legend of physical strength. He holds several records that have never been broken. Born Cyprien-Noé Cyr, he was born in Saint-Cyprien-de-Napierville. He married Mélina Comtois in Saint-Jean-de-Matha on January 16, 1882.
At age 18, he participated in his first strongman competition in Boston. In 1886, he won the title of Canada's strongest man. In 1892, he set several records and was proclaimed the world's strongest man. For several years, he toured Canada, the United States, and Europe, demonstrating his strength. He founded his own circus company in 1899. Louis Cyr died in Montreal at the age of 49 and was buried in Saint-Jean-de-Matha. Louis Cyr's tombstone, designated a municipal historic monument, stands in the cemetery.
Today, Louis Cyr's name is immortalized in several places and in different ways, notably in Saint-Jean-de-Matha, where a museum, a monument, and a park bear his name. Every year, the Festi-Force Louis-Cyr is held there. In Montreal, an imposing statue of him stands in the Parc des Hommes-Forts. In Ohio, the trophy awarded annually to the strongest man on the planet is a statuette bearing the likeness of Louis Cyr. In 2013, the film Louis Cyr: The Strongest Man in the World was released and was very successful.
Text written or compiled by the Acadian Museum of Quebec.
Saint Alexis
Acadia and Saint-Alexis are linked by both their past and their present. There are several families of Acadian origin in our municipality. The municipality of Saint-Alexis is one of four municipalities that make up New Acadia in the Montcalm RCM, and it is important to remember our origins and highlight the importance of the founders of our communities.
Text written or compiled by Carole Lavallée
Monument In memory of our roots
Place of interest
Intersection of Main Street and Route 158.
The sculpture project was developed with an approach based on the identity-building efforts of Acadian settlers in Saint-Alexis. Historically, Acadians were known for their innovative methods of building dikes, which transformed salt marshes into rich agricultural land. This expertise played a major role in making our land some of the most beautiful and fertile in Quebec.
This sculpture was inspired by the importance of preserving and promoting the heritage of quarries and agricultural cultures that have left a deep mark on the land and the municipality of Saint-Alexis. Artist-Blacksmith: Yves Gamache.
Text written or compiled by Carole Lavallé, Recreation, Culture, and Communications Coordinator, Municipality of Saint-Alexis. Source: Beautification Committee and Municipality of Saint-Alexis.
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