Fassett | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Location within Papineau RCM | |
  Fassett Location in western Quebec | |
| Coordinates:45°39′N74°52′W / 45.650°N 74.867°W /45.650; -74.867[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Outaouais |
| RCM | Papineau |
| Settled | 1815 |
| Constituted | July 1, 1855 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Michel Rioux |
| • Federal riding | Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel |
| • Prov. riding | Papineau |
| Area | |
• Total | 15.50 km2 (5.98 sq mi) |
| • Land | 12.49 km2 (4.82 sq mi) |
| Population (2016)[3] | |
• Total | 431 |
| • Density | 34.5/km2 (89/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2011-2016 |  4.4% |
| • Dwellings | 281 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area code | 819 |
Highways A-50 |  R-148 |
| Website | www |
Fassett is a municipality and village in thePapineau Regional County Municipality inQuebec, Canada, located on the north shore of theOttawa River east ofMontebello.
Its main access roads areRoute 148, which passes through the town, andAutoroute 50 which passes to the north.
The area was part of the Petite-NationSeigneury, formed in 1674[4] and originally owned byFrançois de Laval, the first bishop ofNew France. The seigneury was acquired in 1803 byJoseph Papineau, who became its first civilian seigneur, and who later sold it to his sonLouis-Joseph Papineau.[5]
The area became of interest economically when England was forced to rely on its colonies for wood for construction of its vessels during theNapoleonic blockade of 1807. It was full of oaks, pines, and maples regarding which SurveyorJoseph Bouchette wrote in 1815: "the terrain rises and is covered with wood of the best species: oaks are of high quality and particularly of large size, suitable for the construction of vessels."[5]
In 1815, the original mission of Notre Dame de Bonsecours was created. In 1821 a chapel dedicated toNotre-Dame de Bonsecours (Our Lady of Good Help) was constructed. On September 30, 1831, the bishop of QuebecBernard-Claude Panet granted a petition signed byDenis-Benjamin Papineau and over 75 tenants for the formation of a parish. His decree called the new parish Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours-de-la-Petite-Nation and also recommended the people of Bonsecours to acquire civil recognition from the Governor General of Canada,Lord Aylmer.[5]
On June 18, 1845, the Governor General of theProvince of Canada,Charles Metcalfe, established local and municipal authorities in Lower Canada, under a new law passed by the provincial Parliament.[6] One of the new municipalities created was the Municipality of Petite-Nation, which included the Parish of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours-de-la-Petite-Nation. However, this municipality was abolished in 1847.[5]
On July 1, 1855, a new statute of the Province of Canada came into force,[7] which allowed the parish to get official civilian recognition, known as Parish Municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours-de-la-Petite-Nation.[4][5]
On August 22, 1878,Montebello separated from the parish municipality.[8]
In the 1870s, theQuebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway was built, connecting Montreal to Ottawa. The rail-line went through the municipality of Notre-Dame, in what is now Fassett. TheCanadian Pacific Railway bought the line in 1882.[9]
In the late 1890s, there was a dispute between the municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours and the Canadian Pacific Railway, which resulted in a court case that went all the way to theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain, the highest court of appeal for the British Empire. A ditch beside the rail-line had become clogged, resulting in flooding on the neighbouring land, owned by Julien Gervais. The municipality issued an order to the CPR, directing it to clean the obstruction. The CPR refused, arguing that as a federally incorporated railway, it was not required to comply with provincial law. The Quebec courts held that the provincial law did apply,[10] and the CPR appealed to the Judicial Committee. In 1899, the Judicial Committee ruled in favour of the municipality and upheld the order to clean the ditch, in the case known asCanadian Pacific Railway Co. v Notre Dame de Bonsecours.[11] The decision of the Judicial Committee continues to be cited with approval by theSupreme Court of Canada.[12]
In the early 20th century, the Canadian Pacific Railway built a small station here. In 1906, the Thomas family opened a post office in the community. Both were named Fassett in honour ofJacob Sloat Fassett, the president of the Haskell Lumber Company (renamed Fassett Lumber Company in 1910) from 1904 until his death in 1924.[8] Fassett was a lawyer and congressman from Elmira, New York who spent summers in a large beach estate he had built inFalmouth, Massachusetts on what is today known as Fassett's Point at the end of Little Island Road.
In 1913, the parish of Saint-Fidèle de Fassett was formed out of the Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Parish, and in 1918, the municipality split along these parish boundaries.[8] The large rural and forested area became the Parish Municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours-Partie-Nord (which became the Municipality ofNotre-Dame-de-Bonsecours in 2003).[4] In 1951, the Parish Municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours became the Municipality of Fassett, named after the Fassett Lumber Company.[8]
| 2021 | 2016 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 453 (+5.1% from 2016) | 431 (-4.4% from 2011) | 451 (-3.6% from 2006) |
| Land area | 12.52 km2 (4.83 sq mi) | 12.49 km2 (4.82 sq mi) | 12.30 km2 (4.75 sq mi) |
| Population density | 36.2/km2 (94/sq mi) | 34.5/km2 (89/sq mi) | 36.7/km2 (95/sq mi) |
| Median age | 58.8 (M: 59.6, F: 58.4) | 56.9 (M: 56.3, F: 57.8) | 53.9 (M: 52.5, F: 55.3) |
| Private dwellings | 280 (total) 237 (occupied) | 281 (total) | 275 (total) |
| Median household income | $52,400 | $42,432 | $41,646 |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 471 | — |
| 1991 | 505 | +7.2% |
| 1996 | 500 | −1.0% |
| 2001 | 483 | −3.4% |
| 2006 | 468 | −3.1% |
| 2011 | 451 | −3.6% |
| 2016 | 431 | −4.4% |
| Source: Statistics Canada | ||
Mother tongue:[3]
Places adjacent to Fassett, Quebec | |
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 Subdivisions ofPapineau Regional County Municipality | |
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| Cities | |
| Municipalities | |
| Townships | |
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