Verchères | |
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Municipality | |
Statue honouring heroine Madeleine de Verchères.
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Location within Marguerite-D'Youville RCM. |
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Location in southern Quebec. | |
Coordinates: 45°47′N 73°21′W / 45.783°N 73.350°WCoordinates: 45°47′N 73°21′W / 45.783°N 73.350°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Quebec |
Region | Montérégie |
RCM | Marguerite-D'Youville |
Constituted | September 18, 1971 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Alexandre Bélisle |
• Federal riding | Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères |
• Prov. riding | Verchères |
Area | |
• Total | 85.20 km2 (32.90 sq mi) |
• Land | 73.27 km2 (28.29 sq mi) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 5,692 |
• Density | 77.7/km2 (201/sq mi) |
• Pop 2006-2011 | 8.6% |
• Dwellings | 2,406 |
Time zone | EST (UTC−5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) |
Postal code(s) | J0L 2R0 |
Area code(s) | 450 and 579 |
Highways A-30 |
Route 132 |
Website | www |
Verchères is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in Montérégie, Quebec, located on the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 5,692.
In the 17th century, the settlement at Verchères was the scene of an Iroquois raid that was apparently thwarted by the ingenuity of a 14-year-old girl named Madeleine (now known as Madeleine de Verchères). A cast-iron statue of Madeleine de Verchères stands today by the former location of the settlement stronghold on the shore of the Saint-Lawrence river.
In French, the word Verchères can be used as an adjective to describe a specific type of rowboat invented in Verchères at the end of the 19th century, i.e. chaloupe verchères. A specimen of the rowboat is on permanent outdoor display during in the summer and fall in at the Parc Jean-Marie Moreau across from the town office.
The motto of Verchères is In Tenebris Lumen Rectis Corde. The streets of Verchères are mostly named after the patronyms of residing families but also after local people who rose to celebrity in Canadian history.