Mont-Saint-Hilaire

Mont-Saint-Hilaire is a town of about 19,000 (2020) near Montreal, east of the Richelieu River, in La Vallée-du-Richelieu, Quebec. It is distinguished by a resort on the east bank of the Richelieu River, agrotourism (orchards, vineyard, cider house, apple products, market gardening products), its three museums, its places of worship, the Centre de la Nature Mont Saint-Hilaire, and its nautical infrastructure (docks, landing stages, launching ramps, boat storage) promoting pleasure boating.

Mont-Saint-Hilaire is also the name of the mountain in the town, which overlooks the entire region. It is picturesque and has numerous hiking trails.

Understand
Mont-Saint-Hilaire is an important apple-growing region. There is also a significant deposit of the semi-precious mineral sodalite near Mont-Saint-Hilaire.

History
At all times in history, the Richelieu River has proven to be a natural nerve centre and cross-border route between the St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain in the United States. This legendary valley contains vestiges of the Amerindian era, of commercial or pleasure navigation, as well as wars and skirmishes between Indigenous people, French, British and Americans.

Thousands of artifacts have been found in the Richelieu River Valley, dating from the Amerindian era, reaching its peak 21,000 years ago. Following the arrival of Europeans in America, the way of life of the Indigenous people was transformed, at first mainly thanks to the metal tools imported from Europe.
 * Prehistory

The first map of the region was drawn by Samuel de Champlain in 1609. The town of Sorel was founded in 1642. In 1665, the Chambly road was laid out between the towns of Chambly and Longueuil by the troops of the Régiment de Carignan-Salières; it is the first motorable road in Canada. The construction of the Saint-Ours canal (1843) and the Chambly canal (1849) proved to be a significant lever for Canada-United States cross-border trade via the Richelieu, over more than 100 years. At the end of the 19th century, the railways supplanted river transport on the Richelieu.
 * Colonization

Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville was granted lordship over the region in 1694. By 1745 a mountain village had been formed with the first chapel being built in 1798 near the Richelieu River. In 1822, a ferry operating between Beloeil and Mont-Saint-Hilaire came into service. A bridge, enabling Beloeil and St. Hilaire to be connected by rail, was built in 1848 by the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway. The Campbell family, owners of the mountain after that of Rouville, sold the mountain to a British officer, Brigadier-General Andrew Gault, in whose ownership it remained for 45 years. Gault then bequeathed the mountain to McGill University before his death in 1958.

In 1864, Canada's worst rail disaster occurred here when a passenger train passed a red signal and fell off an open swing bridge into the Richelieu River, killing around 99 people.

Designated the valley of the forts, the valley of the Richelieu River was the scene of military operations during the two Franco-Iroquois wars (1643-1667 and 1684-1701), the intercolonial wars (1689-1760), the American Revolution (1775-1776), the American Revolutionary War (1776-1783) and the War of 1812-1814.
 * Wars and Rebellion of 1837-38

The 1837-38 Patriot Rebellion followed many secret assemblies in the early 19th century aimed at establishing full democracy and French-speaking rights.

Geography
Mont-Saint-Hilaire extends over from the east bank of the Richelieu River from the railway bridge over the Richelieu River. The distance is between the summit of Mont Saint-Hilaire and that of Mont Rougement; and  with the summit of Mont Saint-Bruno.

The limit of Mont-Saint-Hilaire stops at the foot of Mont Saint-Hilaire (east side); thus the distance between the Richelieu River (at the height of the bridge) and the eastern limit of the municipality is.

Local information

 * Mont-Saint-Hilaire Town Council website

By car
Autoroute 20, a freeway, passes along the northern side of the Mont-Saint-Hilaire. Autoroute 20 is part of the Trans-Canada Highway between Longueuil and Rivière-du-Loup.
 * From Montréal (35 km, time: 44 min. Take the Jacques-Cartier bridge (southbound); take boulevard Taschereau (westbound); take route 116 (eastbound) to the village of Saint-Hilaire.
 * From Quebec (220 km, time: 2 hr 16 min). Take Autoroute 20 (westbound) up to Saint-Hilaire; take Grande-Allée (westbound); take the 116 (westbound).

By train
Mont-Saint-Hilaire is served by the Mont-Saint-Hilaire commuter rail station on the Réseau de transport métropolitain's (RTM) Mont-Saint-Hilaire line. To get there from Montreal if you do not have a car, the easiest approach is to take the AMT commuter trains from Montreal's Gare Centrale (Central Station). Prices and timetables can be found here, and it should cost around $8 each way. As the local train station is 4-5 km from the trailhead, the most effective means to get there is to hitchhike or take a taxi.

By bus

 * EXO serves the municipalities/cities of the Richelieu valley, in particular (nearby) Otterburn Park, McMasterville, St-Hyacinthe, Beloeil, and Mont-Saint-Hilaire. See the website for schedules.

Get around
Local bus service is provided by the RTM's Vallée du Richelieu sector.

Eat
Several restaurants or dining rooms in the Montérégie have transformed the mode of meals at the tables into take-out or delivery service. In general, restaurateurs have demonstrated great resilience by updating their website, integrating interactive and automated applications for remote orders, as well as the display of the menu, opening hours, their mode of operation (e.g. by reservation, drive-thru service), required health measures (e.g., vaccination record, mask, distancing), other services (e.g., caterer, shops, accommodation, access for disabled, wi-fi, take-out, delivery), contact details and often the history of the restaurant or site.

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