Time zone EST (UTC−5) Area code(s) 450 and 579 Area 85.2 km² Province Québec | Constituted September 18, 1971 Postal code(s) J0L 2R0 Highways A-30 Route 132 Population 5,692 (2011) Local time Sunday 2:58 AM | |
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Weather 0°C, Wind S at 3 km/h, 95% Humidity RCMs Montérégie, Lajemmerais Regional County Municipality | ||
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.
Contents
Map of Verch%C3%A8res, QC, Canada
History
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.