Saint-Léon-le-Grand

Saint-Léon-le-Grand is a municipality of the Maskinongé Regional county municipality (MRC de Maskinongé), in Mauricie.

History
The Catholic parish of Saint-Léon-le-Grand was constituted in 1802. The church was built from 1819 to 1824, and is classified as a heritage building. This church is the oldest in the Catholic diocese of Trois-Rivières. The architects of the church are the brothers Georges-Félix and Joseph Héroux, as well as their master Alexis Milette.

Geography
The main village of Saint-Léon-le-Grand was built at the junction of rue Principale and rue de la Fabrique. The rang des Ambroise path joins rue Principale more or less opposite the church. The heart of the village is on the east bank of the Chacoura River, and to the south of its tributary the Arvisais stream whose mouth is at north of the church. The village is north of Louiseville; and  southwest of the village of Saint-Sévère.

Besides the main village, the rest of the population is mainly scattered along the rue Principale which becomes the Grand rang towards the north; along Rang Barthélemy road (west of the Chacoura river and northeast of the course of the Petite rivière du Loup, as well as along the chemin du rang Saint-Charles (route 349) connecting Louiseville (south side) to Saint-Paulin.

The rivière du Loup constitutes the eastern limit of the municipality of Saint-Léon-le-Grand. The few wooded areas are mainly bordering the rivière du Loup and the Chacoura river.

Economy
The economy of Saint-Léon-le-Grand is mainly focused on agriculture. Forestry is a rather weak economic activity.

Get in
The village of Saint-Léon-le-Grand is accessible by road, bicycle, snowmobile and all-terrain vehicles.

By car

 * From Montreal (, 1 hr 21 min). Take Highway 40 (north shore) eastbound, to Louiseville; take Chemin Caron (northbound); take route 138 (eastbound) and cross the village of Louiseveille; take route 349 (northbound) to the village of Saint-Léon-le-Grand.
 * From Quebec City (, 1 hr 48 min). Take Highway 40 (westbound), to Yamachiche; take the Pays-Brûlé road (northbound); take the Chemin des Petites-Terres (eastbound); cross the Loup river; take the Chemin de la Rivière-du-Loup; take rue Principale to the village of Saint-Léon-le-Grand.