Lacolle | |
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Municipality | |
Town hall
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Location within Le Haut-Richelieu RCM |
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Location within southern Quebec | |
Coordinates: 45°05′N 73°22′W / 45.083°N 73.367°WCoordinates: 45°05′N 73°22′W / 45.083°N 73.367°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Quebec |
Region | Montérégie |
RCM | Le Haut-Richelieu |
Constituted | September 13, 2001 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Roland Luc Béliveau |
• Federal riding | Saint-Jean |
• Prov. riding | Huntingdon |
Area | |
• Total | 53.50 km2 (20.66 sq mi) |
• Land | 49.64 km2 (19.17 sq mi) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 2,680 |
• Density | 54.0/km2 (140/sq mi) |
• Pop 2006-2011 | 6.7% |
• Dwellings | 1,185 |
Time zone | EST (UTC−5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) |
Postal code(s) | J0J 1J0 |
Area code(s) | 450 and 579 |
Highways |
Route 221 Route 223 Route 202 |
Website | www |
Lacolle is a municipality in southern Quebec, Canada located in the administrative area of the Montérégie, on the Canada–United States border. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 2,680. The Lacolle River runs eastward though the middle of the town and empties in Richelieu River.
The written history of Lacolle can be traced back to July 4, 1609 when Samuel de Champlain and his entourage stopped briefly at the mouth of a small stream for a meal before continuing southward up the Richelieu River into the lake which now bears his name. In his journal, Champlain referred to the location of the delta as "Lacole". When translated literally, the term means the neck of a bottle or that which is above the shoulders.
Lacolle was the site of three battles in the early 19th Century. Two of the battles took place during the War of 1812. The Battle of Lacolle Mills (1812) was a short engagement in which a small garrison of Canadien Militia, with the assistance of Kahnawake Mohawk warriors, defended a makeshift log blockhouse from an American invasion force led by Major General Henry Dearborn. In the Battle of Lacolle Mills (1814) a garrison of 80 men of the 13th Regiment of Foot and a Congreve rocket detachment of the Royal Marine Artillery, later reinforced by a company of the Canadian Voltigeurs and the Grenadier company of the Canadian Fencibles successfully defended a blockhouse and stone mill building from an attacking American force of 4,000 men led by Major General James Wilkinson.