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Cowansville, Quebec

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Cowansville
—  Ville  —
Nesbitt House, Cowansville
Location within Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality.
Cowansville is located in Quebec
Cowansville
Location in Quebec, Canada
Coordinates (220, place Municipale [1]): 45°12′18″N 72°44′27″W / 45.205°N 72.74083°W / 45.205; -72.74083
Country  Canada
Province  Quebec
Region Montérégie
RCM Brome-Missisquoi
Established January 01, 1876
Incorporated July 11, 1931
Electoral Districts
Federal

Brome—Missisquoi
Provincial Brome-Missisquoi
Government[1][2][3]
 - Mayor Arthur Fauteux
 - Federal MP(s) Christian Ouellet (BQ)
 - Quebec MNA(s) Pierre Paradis (PLQ)
Area[4]
 - Land 46.09 km2 (17.8 sq mi)
Population (2006)[4]
 - Total 12,182
 - Density 264.3/km2 (684.5/sq mi)
 - Change (2001-06) increase1.2%
 - Dwellings 5,461
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Postal code(s) J2K
Area code(s) 450
Access Routes[5] Route 104
Route 139
Route 202
Route 241
Geocode 46080
Website www.cowansville.org

Cowansville is a town in south-central Quebec, Canada, located on Lac Davignon 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of the U.S. border. It is the seat of Brome-Missisquoi, a regional county municipality. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 12,182.

In recent years, Cowansville has seen its commercial activity blossom mainly due to its proximity to a major freeway, Autoroute 10, and the Eastern Townships ski resort region.

Contents

[edit] History and name

Water Fountain in downtown Cowansville

Jacob Ruiter was the first person to settle on the current site of Cowansville. In 1800 he built a flour mill, and then a saw mill. In 1805, Ruiter named the small town as Nelsonville, in honour of British admiral, Lord Horatio Nelson, who was killed in the naval Battle of Trafalgar.

Ruins of the Vilas Factory

The city's current name is due to Peter Cowan, a merchant from Montreal who settled in the area in 1836 and become postmaster in 1841. In order to avoid that the mail being sent inadvertently to another city named Nelsonville, close to Hamilton in Upper Canada, he decided to change its name.

During the 1870s, the construction of the South Eastern Railway linking Montreal to Cowansville and the opening of the first bank, the Eastern Townships Bank, contributed to the expansion of the small city, which allows many businesses settle in the area. The municipality detached from the district of Dunham, and incorporated on the January 1 1876 and officially was named Cowansville. In February of the same year James O'Halloran was acclaimed as Mayor by the town council. Cowansville saw a strong industrial growth during the 20th century, and became a city on June 25, 1931, and has grown since World War II by various annexations.

The municipality has a current population of over 12,000. The main economy is based on the industrial sector, in particular textiles. There is also a hospital, Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins, a municipal court, and a provincial park close to Davignon Lake.

[edit] Demographics

[edit] Population

Population trend[6]

Census Population Change (%)
2006 12,182 increase1.2%
2001 12,032 decrease0.2%
1996 12,051 increase0.5%
1991 11,986 N/A

[edit] Language

Mother tongue language (2006)[4]

Language Population Pct (%)
French only 9,535 82.20%
English only 1,705 14.70%
Both English and French 155 1.33%
Other languages 205 1.77%

[edit] Communities

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links



Coordinates: 45°12′N 72°45′W / 45.2°N 72.75°W / 45.2; -72.75

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