Yamachiche


Yamachiche is a municipality in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada.

Etymology

The name Yamachiche was first used to identify the Little Yamachiche River which runs through the town. It came from the Native American words iyamitaw and achichki. Therefore Yamachiche could have the general meaning of "muddy river", which is a characteristic of this stream. In Abenaki, it was identified as Namasis and Obamasis.
The name has gone through many spelling variations: Machiche, Ouabmachiche, Yabamachiche, Hyamachiche, Yamachiste, Amachis, à Machis, à Mashis, Machis, Augmachiche, Ouamachiche, Yabmachiche, etc., which have mainly affected the name of the river, whereas the parish and municipal names have remained more stable.

History

In 1653, the area was part of a fief granted to Pierre Boucher de Grosbois, Governor of Trois-Rivières, and in 1672, it was formally ceded to Grosbois. The Grosbois or Machiche Seignory was 1.5 leagues long by 2 leagues deep along the shores of Lac Saint-Pierre. But because of war with the Iroquois First Nation, it could not be colonized until the beginning of the 18th century.
In 1703, the first colonists, the three Gélinas brothers, settled in the area and by 1706, there were 7 families. The same year, the name Yamachiche first appeared in the census. In 1711, the first chapel was built, dedicated to Sainte Anne by Récollet Siméon Dupont, and the Parish of Sainte-Anne was formed in 1722. A year later, the settlement consisted of about 20 families and 100 persons.
In 1725, the Chemin du Roy was built connecting it with Louiseville and Pointe-du-Lac. In 1764, the West Grosbois Seignory was purchased by Conrad Gugy, thereby becoming the first French-Canadian Seignory in English possession. Between 1765 and 1790, Yamachiche grew quickly with new settlers from Acadia and from the United States, particularly Loyalists from Massachusetts.
In 1828, the Saint-Barnabé and Saint-Sévère Parishes were formed by separating from the Sainte-Anne-d'Yamachiche Parish. In 1831, the post office opened. In 1845, the Municipality of Yamachiche was founded but abolished in 1847. It was reestablished in 1855 as the Parish Municipality of Sainte-Anne-d'Yamachiche, with Francois Gerin-Lajoie as first mayor. In 1878, the first train came to Yamachiche, followed by the telegraph in 1880.
In 1887, the village separated from the parish municipality and became the Village Municipality of Yamachiche, with George Felix Heroux as first mayor. In 1895, telephone was installed in Yamachiche and street lighting in 1904.
In 1973, the railway station closed, but in 1975, the new Quebec Autoroute 40 opened, providing access to Yamachiche with 3 interchanges. In 1987, the village and parish municipalities were merged to form the current Municipality of Yamachiche.

List of Mayors

Yamachiche's first local government was established in 1855. From 1887 to 1987, Yamachiche was divided into a parish municipality and a village municipality. Each entity had its own local council and its own mayor. Both structures were merged in 1988 with only one municipal council and one mayor. Officially, municipal elections in Yamachiche are on a non-partisan basis.
Parish Municipality of Sainte-Anne-d'Yamachiche
#MayorTaking OfficeLeaving
1François Gérin-Lajoie18551858
2Joseph Lacerte18581860
3Charles Lajoie18601864
4Madore Gélinas18641868
5Raphaël Boucher18681870
6Georges-Horace Proulx18701872
7Héli-Léonard Héroux18721875
8Joseph Bellemare18751877
9Alexandre Daveluy18771878
10François-Sévère Lesieur Desaulniers18781879
11François Lacerte18791880
12Antoine Lamy18801881
13Thomas Ricard18811882
14Louis Dussault18821884
15Arthur Lacerte18841885
16Joseph Lapointe18851886
17Élie Lacerte18861887
18Thomas Dufresne18871889
10François-Sévère Lesieur Desaulniers18891892
19Esdras Lamy18921896
20George L. Duchêne18961907
21Honoré Lapointe19071912
22Jean-Baptiste Fréchette19121913
23Théodore Bourassa19131914
24Thomas A. Lamy19141915
25Élie Bellemare19151917
26Georges Proulx19171921
27Joseph L. Desaulniers19211923
25Élie Bellemare19231925
28Alexandre Gignac19251929
29Omer E. Milot19291933
30Joseph Gauthier19331935
31Alcide Bellefeuille19351937
32Alide L. Desaulniers19371939
33Henri P. Milot19391941
32Alide L. Desaulniers19411949
34Clovis Héroux19491953
32Alide L. Desaulniers19531959
35Fleurimond Pellerin19591961
36Philias Isabelle19611967
37Gaston Houle19671973
36Philias Isabelle19731978
38Marcel Duchesne19781979
39Jacques Landry19791986
40André Chainé19861987

Village Municipality of Yamachiche
#MayorTaking OfficeLeaving
1Georges Félix Héroux18871899
2Arthur Héroux18991900
3Pierre Gaspard Bellemare19001901
4Napoléon Pellerin19011905
5Joseph Boucher19051906
6Adrien Milot19061908
7Moïse Carbonneau19081908
4Napoléon Pellerin19081909
8Napoléon Bellemare19091910
9Hyacinthe Trahan19101912
10Napoléon Samson19121912
11Eugène Lesieur19121916
12Victor Descôteaux19161919
13Didier St-Louis19191921
14Pierre Bellemare19211923
15Hercule Descôteaux19231925
16Dionis Villemure19251927
17Eugène Maillette19271929
18Raoul Duchesne19291931
14Pierre Bellemare19311935
19Charles-Édouard Girardin19351943
20Omer St-Louis19431951
21J. Sylvio Villemure19511953
20Omer St-Louis19531957
22Émile Pellerin19571961
23Charles-Denis Girardin19611973
24Roland Girardin19731982
25Raymond Bellemare19821987

Merged municipality
#MayorTaking OfficeLeaving
1André Chainé19881991
2Louise A. Bellemare19911999
3Michel Isabelle19992017
4Paul Carbonneau2017Current

Demographics

Population trend:
Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 1160
Mother tongue: