Waterville
City
Official seal of Waterville
Seal
Location within Coaticook RCM.
Location within Coaticook RCM.
Waterville is located in Southern Quebec
Waterville
Waterville
Location in southern Quebec.
Coordinates: 45°16′N 71°54′W / 45.267°N 71.900°W / 45.267; -71.900[1]
Country Canada
Province Quebec
RegionEstrie
RCMCoaticook
ConstitutedJanuary 1, 1876
Government
[2]
 • MayorNathalie Dupuis
 • Federal ridingCompton—Stanstead
 • Prov. ridingSaint-François
Area
[2][3]
 • Total44.80 km2 (17.30 sq mi)
 • Land44.42 km2 (17.15 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[3]
 • Total2,028
 • Density45.7/km2 (118/sq mi)
 • Pop 2006-2011
Increase 5.3%
 • Dwellings
841
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)
J0B 3H0
Area code819
Highways R-108
R-143
R-147
Websitewww.waterville.ca

Waterville is a city of 1,800 people in southeastern Quebec, Canada, in the Coaticook Regional County Municipality. Prior to January 1, 2002, it was in La Région-Sherbrookoise Regional County Municipality, and was the only member of that RCM that did not amalgamate into the expanded city of Sherbrooke on that date.

History

Waterville owes its existence to water-power, harnessed first by a sawmill (1810) and subsequently by several other industries, which attracted its initial British, Loyalist and American population in 1870. Industrial development began in 1810 with the construction of a sawmill by a Compton Township businessman. Convinced by merchants in Quebec City, Joseph Pennoyer collected seven tons of hemp at his sawmill, intended for the manufacture of British ship cords. Inventor George Gale succeeded him in 1879, patenting his own mattress designs, which eventually made him one of the world's great inventors of box-springs and spring mattresses.

Economy

Waterville remains an industrial centre, with three internationally recognized companies, one of which is Waterville TG, acquired by the Japanese giant Gosei in 1988 and specializing in auto-part manufacturing. Aside from the rubber, plastic moulding and woodworking factories, Waterville is also host to a number of interesting buildings: the mansard-style Gale family residence, now the Foyer Waterville; the Anglican church on the corner of Principale and Compton Ouest; a covered bridge dating from the second half of the 19th century; and the Ball residence, a Queen-Anne style house which belonged to the founders of the Dominion Snath company, once a North American leader in scythe handle production. The former Ball residence now houses a bed and breakfast. The nine-hole Bonnie View Golf Club, now known as the Waterville Golf Club, is among Quebec's oldest links.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Waterville had a population of 2,307 living in 909 of its 950 total private dwellings, a change of 8.8% from its 2016 population of 2,121. With a land area of 44.03 km2 (17.00 sq mi), it had a population density of 52.4/km2 (135.7/sq mi) in 2021.[4]

Population trend[5]

Census Population Change (%)
2011 2,028 Increase 5.3%
2006 1,926 Decrease 0.9%
ADJ 1,944 + Increase 6.6%
2001 1,824 Decrease 1.2%
ADJ 1,846 + Increase 38.6%
1996 1,332 Decrease 0.4%
1991 1,337 N/A

(+) adjusted figures due to boundary changes

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Banque de noms de lieux du Québec: Reference number 66722". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
  2. 1 2 "Répertoire des municipalités: Geographic code 44080". www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation.
  3. 1 2 "Waterville, Quebec (Code 2444080) Census Profile". 2011 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada.
  4. ↑ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  5. ↑ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census
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