Otterburn Park, Quebec

Otterburn Park
City
Location within La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM.
Otterburn Park Location in southern Quebec.
Coordinates: 45°32′N 73°13′W / 45.533°N 73.217°WCoordinates: 45°32′N 73°13′W / 45.533°N 73.217°W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montérégie
RCM	La Vallée-du-Richelieu
Constituted	July 1, 1855
Government[2][3]
• Mayor	Danielle Lavoie
• Federal riding	Beloeil—Chambly
• Prov. riding	Borduas
Area[2][4]
• Total	5.70 km^2 (2.20 sq mi)
• Land	5.35 km^2 (2.07 sq mi)
Population (2011)[4]
• Total	8,450
• Density	1,580.6/km^2 (4,094/sq mi)
• Pop 2006-2011	0.2%
• Dwellings	3,256
Time zone	EST (UTC−5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s)	J3H 2M6
Area code(s)	450 and 579
Highways	Route 133
Website	www.ville. otterburnpark.qc.ca

Otterburn Park is a small town located 40 km east of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 8,450. The town lies south of Mont-Saint-Hilaire on the Richelieu River and is one of the officially bilingual towns in Quebec.

History

Originally a rural agricultural area, Otterburn Park's transformation began in the late 1800s, when it became a favourite weekend destination for employees of the Grand Trunk Railway, which, starting in 1885, ran a weekend train from Bonaventure Station to Mont-Saint-Hilaire.^[5] Occasional recreational visitors, including railroad employees, bought or built summer cottages, spurring development and, eventually, permanent settlement.^[5]

Until 1949, the Otterburn park was neighbourhood within Mont-Saint-Hilaire parish.^[5] It took its present name, Otterburn Park, by vote in 1953.

Otterburn Park was the scene of the St-Hilaire train disaster in 1864, in which nearly 100 people were killed when an immigrant train failed to stop at an open swing bridge and fell into the Richelieu. The disaster remains the worst railroad accident in Canadian history, and the bridge is known to this day as the Pont Noir, or black bridge.

Demographics

Population Population trend:[6] Census Population Change (%) 2011 8,450 0.2% 2006 8,464 7.6% 2001 7,866 7.5% 1996 7,320 21.1% 1991 6,046 N/A

Language Mother tongue language (2006)[7] Language Population Pct (%) French only 7,595 89.83% English only 585 6.92% Both English and French 70 0.83% Other languages 205 2.42%

Education

The South Shore Protestant Regional School Board previously served the municipality.^[8]

See also

• List of cities in Quebec

References

1. Reference number 142206 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (French)
2. Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire: Otterburn Park
3. Parliament of Canada Federal Riding History: CHAMBLY--BORDUAS (Quebec)
4. 2011 Statistics Canada Census Profile: Otterburn Park, Quebec
5. http://ville.otterburnpark.qc.ca/cgi-bin/index.cgi?page=c1_0&langue=fra
6. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census
7. 2006 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Contrecœur, Quebec
8. King, M.J. (Chairperson of the board). "South Shore Protestant Regional School Board" (St. Johns, PQ). The News and Eastern Townships Advocate. Volume 119, No. 5. Thursday December 16, 1965. p. 2. Retrieved from Google News on November 23, 2014.

External links

• City of Otterburn Park