title: Château-Richer
text: # Château-Richer
  
  Château-Richer is a small town situated in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. Located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River east of Quebec City, Château-Richer is the seat for the Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality.
  
  The first rural parish in New France was established there in 1678 and many of the oldest families in Quebec first settled there. Even today, a fairly large segment of the town's population can be traced back to those pioneering families.
  
  The town stretches for several miles alongside Route 138. This road, which was originally known as the King's Road (Chemin du Roy, or Chemin royal), to be later renamed Avenue royale, is among the first ones to be built in North America.
  
  ## History
  
  In 1626, Samuel de Champlain established in Château-Richer the first farm in the Saint Lawrence valley, to feed the people of Quebec city. Jean Bourdon's map of 1641 is the earliest source that mentions the name "Chateau Richer", referring only to the cape or headland on which stands the present church. But the origin of this name remains uncertain. In 1646, Olivier Letardif, Lord and Chief Prosecutor, granted 20 concessions to the inhabitants of Château-Richer so that they could officially establish themselves properly.
  
  In 1678, the local parish was formed, named La Visitation-de-Notre-Dame. On March 15, 1753, Château-Richer became very first organized village in New France. In 1832, the post office opened. In 1845, the municipality was first established but abolished in 1847. It was reestablished in 1855 when it was incorporated as a parish municipality. Château-Richer was the county town of defunct Montmorency County.
  
  Louis-Théodore Besserer, a prominent businessman of Ottawa, was born in Château-Richer.
  
  In 1968, it changed its status and became Ville de Château-Richer with the status of a town.
  
  ## Demographics
  
  In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Château-Richer had a population of 4,425 living in 1,918 of its 2,064 total private dwellings, a change of 7.2% from its 2016 population of 4,126. With a land area of 228.84 $km^2$ (88.36 sq mi), it had a population density of $19.3/km^2$ (50.1/sq mi) in 2021.
  
  Mother tongue:
  
  * English as first language: 0.6%
  * French as first language: 97.7%
  * English and French as first language: 0.4%
  * Other as first language: 1.3%
  
  ## List of mayors
  
  Successive mayors of Château-Richer:
  
  