The village of Yamachiche is built around the junction of route 138 (serving the north shore of the St. Lawrence River) and route 153 which leads north to Shawinigan, via Saint-Barnabé-nord. Yamachiche is a town of about 2,800 people (2016) in Mauricie.
Every spring and fall, hundreds of thousands of migratory birds stop off by landing on Lac Saint-Pierre (and its tributaries) and on the surrounding land, many of which are flooded during the snowmelt period.
Understand
[edit]History
[edit]In 1653, the area was part of a fief granted to Pierre Boucher de Grosbois, Governor of Trois-Rivières, but because of war with the Iroquois First Nation, it could not be colonized until the beginning of the 18th century.
In 1703, the first colonists, the three Gélinas brothers, settled in the area and by 1706, there were 7 families. In 1711, the first chapel was built, dedicated to Sainte Anne by Récollet Siméon Dupont, and the Parish of Sainte-Anne was formed in 1722. A year later, the settlement consisted of about 20 families and 100 persons.
In 1725, the Chemin du Roy (French for "King's Highway") was built connecting it with Louiseville and Pointe-du-Lac. In 1764, the West Grosbois Seignory was purchased by Conrad Gugy, thereby becoming the first French-Canadian Seignory in English possession. Between 1765 and 1790, Yamachiche grew quickly with new settlers from Acadia (Acadians expelled by the English) and from the United States, particularly Loyalists from Massachusetts.
The houses in the village were generally built in the second half of the 19th century. They have common characteristics: large, red brick, large gallery on one or two sides of the house. The main patrimonial houses located on rue Sainte-Anne (route 138) are: Barthelémy-Caron house (531 Ste-Anne), Louis-Léon-Lesieur Désaulniers house (571-573 Ste-Anne), Louis-Octavien-Maxime-Bellemare house and Banque-provinciale-du-Canada building.
Geography
[edit]The territory of Yamachiche has a relatively uniform relief which is favorable to agriculture. The main hamlets are: Village-des-Caron, Grande Acadie, Petite Acadie and Petite Rivière.
At Yamachiche, the north shore of Lac Saint-Pierre has two bays including Anse de Yamachiche which is separated by two points (peninsulas) attached to the north shore and crossed respectively by the Langevin stream and the Yamachiche river.
Get in
[edit]Quebec Autoroute 40 provides access to Yamachiche with 3 interchanges.
The Express Bleu bus leaves from the Cégep in Trois-Rivières M-F at 07:55, 11:55, and 17:55, and stops 30-40 min later in Yamachiche at Porte de la Mauricie, Hôtel de Ville, and the Shell Station Service Shell (871, rue Ste-Anne). The fare is $6, children under 6 free (Apr 2019).
Get around
[edit]- 1 Station-service Shell, 871, rue Sainte-Anne, ☏ +1 800-296-3322.
See
[edit]Heritage tour
[edit]
- 1 Église Sainte-Anne (Church of Saint Anne), 530 Rue Sainte Anne, ☏ +1 819-296-3289. A church built in 1794.
- 2 Maison Barthelémy-Caron (House Barthelémy-Caron), 531 Rue Sainte Anne.
- 3 Maison Louis-Léon-Lesieur Désaulniers (Louis-Léon-Lesieur Désaulniers House), 571-573 Rue Sainte Anne. Louis-Léon Lesieur-Desaulniers (1785-1870) was representative of the region of Saint-Maurice in the Legislative Assembly of the province of Canada. He had studied medicine.
- 4 Maison Louis-Octavien-Maxime-Bellemare (Louis-Octavien-Maxime-Bellemare House), 601, rue Ste-Anne.
- 5 Édifice de la Banque-provinciales-du-Canada (Provincial Bank of Canada Building), 631, rue Sainte-Anne. Building erected in 1913.
- 6 Maison Nérée-Beauchemin (Nérée-Beauchemin House), 711 Rue Sainte Anne. Red brick house erected in 1867 and classified as a heritage building. This building was inhabited for more than 50 years by Charles-Nérée Beauchemin (1850-1931), doctor and poet. Beauchemin is considered a great name in Quebec literature and one of the first writers of the Terroir school, to which we associate themes on the homeland, nature and religion. This house was built for Charles Gérin-Lajoie (1824-1895), deputy, farmer and grain merchant; he used it for residential and commercial purposes. From 1877 to 1931, it was used as a residence and medical office for doctors Hyacinthe and Charles-Nérée Beauchemin. The annex was built in 1915, serving as a pharmacy.
- 7 Réserve naturelle de Pointe Yamachiche (Pointe Yamachiche Nature Reserve), 530 Rue Sainte Anne (Accessible by the access loop from Route 153 to Autoroute 40.), ☏ +1 819-296-3289. Nature reserve established on a point attached to the north shore of Lake Saint-Pierre. The course of the Yamachiche river runs through and separates this point into two parts. Parking is available near the access loop to Autoroute 40. A footbridge for visitors is set up to observe migrating birds and contemplate the panorama in the Yamachiche cove and on Lake Saint-Pierre.
Do
[edit]- La Route Verte. A cross-provincial bicycle network that runs through Yamachiche. It covers 5,300 km of trails.
Buy
[edit]Foods
[edit]- 1 Dépanneur Vic - Supérette, 631, boul. Duchesne, ☏ +1-819-296-3052.
- 2 Ferme Le Rieur Sanglier, 671, chemin de la Grande Rivière Nord, ☏ +1-819-296-1316. Butcher's shop. Méhoui-country table. Online Store. Farm started in 1998 by Nicolas Gauthier, agronomist by training. She specializes in the breeding and marketing of wild boar. This farm is one of the largest herds of wild boar in Quebec, with more than 400 heads, including 90 females and 9 males in production.
- 3 Nadia Ferme, 1280 chemin de la Rivière-aux-Glaises. A family farm. Local products. Typical Moroccan dishes. On reservation.
- 4 Vignoble et Domaine Beauchemin, 380, rue Gérin-Lajoie, ☏ +1 819-979-0809, [email protected]. Vineyard established in Yamachiche since 2010; 4000 vines are then planted there. In 2014, the first official vintage, plantation of Chardonnay and arrival of Robin. In 2015, the winemakers were planted with two new grape varieties, Pinot Noir and Gamaret. In 2017, a new grape variety was planted, Savagnin.
Other types of stores
[edit]- 5 Familiprix - Marie-Ève Gélinas, 750, rue Ste-Anne, ☏ +1-819-296-2222.
- 6 Marché public Yamachiche (Yamachiche public market), 530 Rue Sainte Anne (Yamachiche church parking lot), ☏ +1-819-523-3870. Seasonal regional public market. Saturdays from mid-June to the end of September from 9h15
Eat
[edit]Restaurants
[edit]- 1 Porte de la Mauricie (door of Mauricie), 4 Boulevard Sainte-Anne, ☏ +1 819-228-9434. 24 hr. 24-hour truck stop restaurant with Saturday night buffet, Sunday brunch, menu at other times. Also A&W hamburger and Thai Express fast food outlets at the same location.
- 2 Chez Archie, 821 Rue Sainte Anne, ☏ +1 819-296-2308. Th-M 11:00-19:00. Fast food.
- 3 Café La Bezotte, 601 Rue Sainte Anne, ☏ +1 819-721-0118. Café, restaurant and tapas bar. Meals on site. Pick up outside. Restaurant housed in an old and large red brick house.
- 4 Thai Express Restaurant Yamachiche, La Halte 175, 14 rue Ste-Anne, ☏ +1 819-228-8881. Restaurant affiliated with the Thai Express banner. Meals on site. Take-out orders.
- 5 Restaurant A&W, La Halte 175, 14 rue Ste-Anne, ☏ +1 819-228-3443. Restaurant affiliated with the A&W banner.
- 6 Restaurant Subway, La Halte 175, 14 rue Ste-Anne, ☏ +1 819-228-5620. Restaurant affiliated with the Subway banner.
Sugar shack
[edit]- 7 Ferme le Crépuscule, 1321, ch. de la Grande-Rivière N., ☏ +1 819-296-1321. Late March-April. Sugar shack located on an authentic farm, this sugar bush is known for its traditional family atmosphere. Each spring, farmer Jean-Pierre celebrates the sugaring-off season in his sugar shack with organic traditional dishes based on in-house and local products. 0-2 years old free, 3-8 years old $17.39, 9-14 years old $30.44, 15 years old and more $47.83, taxes not included, tip included.
Drink
[edit]- 1 Brasserie Dépareillée (Mismatched brewery), 751, rue Ste-Anne, ☏ +1 819-900-0916. M-W 11:00-17:00, Th F 11:00-19:00, Sa 13:00-19:00, Su 12+00-17:00. Brewery. Tour the production centre (by reservation), sample beers and purchase products on-site.
Sleep
[edit]- 1 Yamachiche P.Q., 511 Rue Sainte Anne, ☏ +1 819-269-0119, [email protected]. B&B with three smoke-free rooms, home-cooked food made with local ingredients. Free Wi-Fi and parking. From $105.
- 2 Hotel Lyston Inn, 191 Rue Sainte Anne (2 km from Exit 174 on Autoroute 40 on route 138 "Chemin du Roy"), ☏ +1 819-296 3930. Continental breakfast available for $7. Free Wi-Fi and parking. Fridge and microwave in the room. English, French, Spanish and Catalan spoken. $59-90.
Connect
[edit]- 1 Bibliothèque J.-Alide-Pellerin (J.-Alide-Pellerin Library), 440, rue Ste-Anne, ☏ +1 819-296-3580. Public library.
Go next
[edit]
- 1 Louiseville Municipality bordering Lac Saint-Pierre, Louiseville has great agricultural and recreational tourism activities (vacationing, swimming, hunting, fishing, boating). Every spring and fall, hundreds of thousands of migratory birds stop off by landing on Lac Saint-Pierre (and its tributaries) and the surrounding land.
- 2 Saint-Léon-le-Grand The main economic activity of the territory is agriculture.
- 3 Saint-Barnabé The main economic activity of the territory is agriculture.
- 4 Pointe-du-Lac
Located at the mouth of Lake Saint-Pierre, this sector is a resort, residential and recreational tourism centre.
| Routes through Yamachiche |
| Montreal ← Lavaltrie ← | W  E
|
→ Trois-Rivières → Quebec City |
| Montréal ← Louiseville ← | W  E
|
→ Trois-Rivières |
| Shawinigan ← Saint-Barnabé ← | N  S
|
→ Terminus |