Petit-Rocher is a former village in Gloucester County, New Brunswick. It held village status prior to 2023 and is now part of the town of Belle-Baie. Sitting on the western shore of both Chaleur Bay and Nepisiguit Bay 20 km northwest of Bathurst.
Petit-Rocher | |
|---|---|
| |
 Petit-Rocher welcome sign, 2016 | |
 Seal | |
| Motto: Ascencio Populi | |
  Petit-Rocher Location within New Brunswick. | |
| Coordinates: 47°47′36″N 65°42′58″W / 47.79333°N 65.71611°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | New Brunswick |
| County | Gloucester |
| Parish | Beresford |
| Town | Belle-Baie |
| Founded | 1797 |
| Village | 1966 |
| Dissolved | 2023 |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.52 km2 (1.75 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 1,954 |
| • Density | 432.2/km2 (1,119/sq mi) |
| • Change (2016–21) |  0.1% |
| • Dwellings | 963 |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (AST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-3 (ADT) |
| Postal code | |
| Area code | 506 |
| Highways |  Route 11 Route 134 Route 315 |
| Petit-Rocher Lighthouse | |
| Constructed | 1929  |
| Construction | metal |
| Height | 7 m (23 ft) |
| Shape | square prism skeletal tower[2][3][4] |
| Markings | grey metallic tower |
| Power source | solar power |
| Operator | Canadian Coast Guard |
| Focal height | 7.6 m (25 ft) |
| Range | 15 nmi (28 km; 17 mi) |
| Characteristic | L Fl W 6s |
| Original light | |
| Constructed | 1879 |
| Construction | lumber |
| Height | 9.5 m (31 ft) |
| Shape | truncated square pyramid |
| Markings | white |
| Deactivated | 1929 |
| Focal height | 10.6 m (35 ft) |
The former local service districts of Petit-Rocher-Nord (Devereaux) and Petit-Rocher-Sud bordered the village on the north and south, respectively.
History
editThe village was founded in 1797 by Acadian settlers. The name literally means "little rock", and is pronounced by most anglophones in the region as Petty Roche.[citation needed] The name of the village is reputed to derive from the fact that the village's founders disembarked on a small rock. The village was named Little Roche from 1850 to 1854, then Madisco until 1870, and then Petit Rocher. The hyphenated form Petit-Rocher was adopted in 2009. Some old maps have the name Petite Roche (1812) and Sainte Roque or Little Russia (1827).[5]
On January 1, 2023, Petit-Rocher amalgamated with Beresford, Nigadoo, Pointe-Verte and all or part of ten local service districts to form the new town of Belle-Baie.[6][7] The community's name remains only for address purposes.[8]
Demographics
editIn the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Petit-Rocher had a population of 1,954 living in 890 of its 963 total private dwellings, a change of 3% from its 2016 population of 1,897. With a land area of 4.52 km2 (1.75 sq mi), it had a population density of 432.3/km2 (1,119.7/sq mi) in 2021.[1]
| 2021 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,954 (+3.0% from 2016) | 1,908 (-2.1% from 2006) |
| Land area | 4.52 km2 (1.75 sq mi) | 4.49 km2 (1.73 sq mi) |
| Population density | 432.2/km2 (1,119/sq mi) | 425.2/km2 (1,101/sq mi) |
| Median age | 56 (M: 55.2, F: 56.8) | 51.3 (M: 49.9, F: 52.2) |
| Private dwellings | 890 (total) | 938 (total) |
| Median household income | $55,666 |
Language
edit| Canada Census Mother Tongue - Petit-Rocher, New Brunswick[9] | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Total | French
|
English
|
French & English
|
Other
| |||||||||||||
| Year | Responses | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | |||||
2021
|
1,885
|
1,690 |  0.05%
|
89.65% | 145 | 26.08%
|
7.69% | 35 | 75.0%
|
1.85% | 20 |  0.0%
|
1.06% | |||||
2016
|
1,885
|
1,700 | 2.85%
|
90.18% | 115 | 15.00%
|
6.10% | 20 | 1.06%
|
1.33% | 20 | 0.0%
|
1.06% | |||||
2011
|
1,875
|
1,750 | 4.4%
|
93.33% | 100 | 42.9%
|
5.33% | 25 | 25.0%
|
1.33% | 0 | 0.0%
|
0.00% | |||||
2006
|
1,920
|
1,830 | 1.9%
|
95.31% | 70 | 44.0%
|
3.65% | 20 | 0.0%
|
1.04% | 0 | 0.0%
|
0.00% | |||||
2001
|
1,940
|
1,795 | 8.2%
|
92.53% | 125 | 38.9%
|
6.44% | 20 | 100.0%
|
1.03% | 0 | 100.0%
|
0.00% | |||||
1996
|
2,065
|
1,955 | n/a | 94.67% | 90 | n/a | 4.36% | 10 | n/a | 0.48% | 10 | n/a | 0.48% | |||||
Tourism
editIn 2012 and 2013, Petit-Rocher was host to the CCBHA's annual ball hockey tournament with a team from nearby Dundee taking home the Allen, Paquet & Arseneau cup as champions for both tournaments.[14]
Notable people
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Census Profile of Petit-Rocher". Statistics Canada. December 6, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
- ^ List of Lights, Pub. 110: Greenland, The East Coasts of North and South America (Excluding Continental U.S.A. Except the East Coast of Florida) and the West Indies (PDF). List of Lights. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2015.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Canada: Northern New Brunswick". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ Petit Rocher Light Lighthouse Explorer. Retrieved 26 March 2017
- ^ Alan Rayburn, Geographical Names of New Brunswick, Énergie, Mines et Ressources Canada, Ottawa, 1975, p. 215.
- ^ "Local Governments Establishment Regulation – Local Governance Act". Government of New Brunswick. October 12, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
- ^ "RSC 3 Chaleur Regional Service Commission". Government of New Brunswick. January 31, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
- ^ "Proposed entity names reflect strong ties to nature and history" (Press release). Irishtown, New Brunswick: Government of New Brunswick. May 25, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
- ^ a b Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census
- ^ "2021 Community Profiles". 2021 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. February 4, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
- ^ "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
- ^ "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.
- ^ "Home - Campbellton-Chaleur Ball Hockey".
External links
edit- Acadie-Bathurst. Petit-Rocher
