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Val-des-Bois, Quebec

Val-des-Bois
Municipality
Municipal office
Municipal office
Location within Papineau RCM.
Location within Papineau RCM.
Val-des-Bois is located in Western Quebec
Val-des-Bois
Val-des-Bois
Location in western Quebec.
Coordinates: 45°55′N 75°36′W / 45.917°N 75.600°W / 45.917; -75.600Coordinates: 45°55′N 75°36′W / 45.917°N 75.600°W / 45.917; -75.600
Country  Canada
Province  Quebec
Region Outaouais
RCM Papineau
Constituted January 1, 1885
Government
 • Mayor Marcel Proulx
 • Federal riding Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel
 • Prov. riding Papineau
Area
 • Total 245.60 km2 (94.83 sq mi)
 • Land 225.35 km2 (87.01 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 938
 • Density 4.2/km2 (11/sq mi)
 • Pop 2006-2011 Increase 7.4%
 • Dwellings 1,003
Time zone EST (UTC−5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s) J0X 3C0
Area code(s) 819
Highways Route 309
Website www.val-des-bois.ca

Val-des-Bois is a town and municipality in the Papineau Regional County Municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. The town is located on the eastern shores of the Du Lièvre River, 47 kilometers (29 mi) north of Buckingham.

The main local economic activity depends on cottage tourism. The eastern half of the municipality is part of the Papineau-Labelle Wildlife Reserve.

As part of the Laurentian Highlands, its territory is dotted with lakes such Écho, de l'Argile, de l'Aqueduc, Vert, and Delphis. Echo Lake lies at an altitude of 243 meters (797 ft), while the surrounding relief rises to 472 meters (1,549 ft) above sea level.

In 1873, the Township of Villeneuve was formed and named after Léonard-Vincent-Léon Villeneuve (1808-1873), member of Society of Saint-Sulpice, professor at the Petit Séminaire de Montréal (1838-1846), and pastor of Oka from 1871 to 1873.

In 1878, the local post office was named "Val-des-Bois". In 1883, the parish of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde was formed, and two years later, the United Township Municipality of Bowman-et-Villeneuve was established. In 1913, the townships separated, forming the Township Municipality of Bowman and the Township Municipality of Villeneuve. In 1929, James Maclaren began construction on a dam at the High Falls of the Lièvre River, displacing 156 families because of the rising waters. The majority of them where German settlers, the average amount the families received from the MacLaren Co. were, depending on the acreage, between $ 1000.-- to $ 2000 each.

In 1958, Villeneuve was renamed to Val-des-Bois (French for "Valley of the Woods"), in reference to the beautiful forest which decorated the banks of the Lièvre River.

On 23 June 2010 a 5.0 earthquake struck the region, with its epicentre 8 km from Val-des-Bois, which was the closest settlement.


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