Maniwaki, Quebec
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Maniwaki is a town north of Gatineau and located north-west of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The town is situated on the Gatineau River, along Route 105, not far south of Route 107 and the Trans-Canada Highway. It is the administrative centre for La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality, Quebec.
The town was given the name "Maniwaki", Algonquian for "Mary's Land", by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Some 150 years ago, the Reverend Oblate Fathers founded a mission and soon after, wood merchants, farmers, trade workers, businessmen and professionals, drawn by the forest's wealth, came to live. Maniwaki was founded in 1849 and the parish registers were started in 1851. Forestry took root and became the livelihood of many settlers in this still virgin region. Irish, French and American Indians all contributed to the development of the town and lived side by side in harmony. Maniwaki was officially founded in 1851 and obtained the status of "Ville de la province de Québec" in 1957.
The first settlers of the region were the Algonquins. The Réserve de la Rivière Désert, also known as the Kitigan Zibi Reserve, is just to the south of Maniwaki.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the region, like everywhere in Quebec, was hit by an epidemic of the Spanish influenza. In less than two weeks, some twenty deaths were related to this sickness. Scared, people refused to go outdoors, and for the first time in its history, a Sunday passed without any mass being celebrated at the Assumption church.
The flood of 1974 is an event remembered by the local population. On May 14 of that year, the waters of the Gatineau river and those of the Désert River overflowed. The water rose at an alarming rate of 3 to 6 inches an hour. Over 1,000 residences in the Maniwaki area were flooded and approximately 3,000 persons had to be evacuated. Although no one was injured, damages reached many millions of dollars.
Since 1974, no other major calamity has occurred. The area continues prospering every year in two predominant fields, namely forestry and tourism.
[edit] Demographics
- Population Town of Maniwaki: 4102 (2006 Census of Canada)
- Population of Kitigan Zibi Reserve: 1165 (2006 Census of Canada)
[edit] External links
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