The origin of Forestville

Native Americans have frequented the Forestville area for thousands of years and many French traders ventured there during the New France era, but the permanent occupation of the place only began several years later.

It was here, in 1845, that the Slevin sawmill settled in Forestville. It employs 100 workers. It sells the properties and the limits of wood to the company William Price in 1849. The latter is then in the process of establishing a real forest empire throughout Eastern Quebec. In 1881, the village of Forrest-Ville has 41 houses and a little over 250 people.

In 1937, the Anglo Canadian company acquired the Sault-aux-Cochons River concessions and the first contingents of workers came to settle at the mouth of the river.

At that time, the first buildings are already in place, but the city does not officially exist, which is done May 4, 1944, with the incorporation of Forestville in the registers of the Government of Quebec.

Picture of the mouth of the Sault-aux-Cochons River in 1947.

The creation of St-Luc de Forestville parish dates from 1949. It allows to set up a first structure which gathers as much the employees of the Anglo as the settlers of the surroundings. The parish has 265 families, for a total of 1,430 residents. Of these, about thirty families are Anglophone and Protestant.

Picture:  Aerial view of Forestville in 1949. At the bottom of the image is Lake Forest. The artery at the top represents today the current road 138.

Since the 1950s, Forestville has acquired several infrastructures. Church, school, convent, post office, etc. are part of the achievements of the time. Forestville also added an airport service at this time.

The picture shows the arrival of a DC3-type airplane in 1954. During those years, it cost only $ 5.50 to fly between Forestville and Rimouski.

In the fall of 1952, the port of Forestville was overflowing with activity and thousands of tons of equipment arrived in anticipation of the first mega hydroelectric project on the Côte-Nord, that of the Bersimis 1 and 2 power plants. This is the first major northern project of the young state company, Hydro-Québec.

Picture: The Forestville wharf in the 50s.
Source: Hydro-Québec Archives.

In the 40s, while the whole agglomeration of Forestville is only a vast building site, the first streets are peopled with small houses, then the first businesses settle. In 1961, the census indicates a total agglomeration of 3641 inhabitants.

Picture: 5th street in Forestville in 1958.

In the 1950s, Forestville was a major transit city for the approximately 1,500 forestry workers who traveled there from the Anglo shipyards. This forestry company is then the main employer in the region, offering some 300 permanent jobs.

Picture: The 1959 Forestville Low town, a private village at the time of Anglo Canadian Pulp & Paper Mills.

Forestville now has nearly 3,100 inhabitants. It is a welcoming and endearing city. A young city, in full development, which offers a range of benefits and a high quality of life for those who live there. It is a dynamic community, woven tight and involved, all encamped in a scenery where miles of forests and incredible beaches are scattered as far as the eye can see.

In short, Forestville is a city where life is good!