Jean-Étienne (Stephen) Fournier (1852–1929) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician, who served as the first mayor of Sudbury,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. Born in

Trois-Pistoles, Quebec Trois-Pistoles is a city in Les Basques Regional County Municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It is also the county seat. The town is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. A ferry crosses the river t ...

, Fournier worked for the Central Canada Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway in

Petawawa Petawawa is a town located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 18,160 (2021 Census), Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County. Geography The town lies on the west ...

before moving to Sudbury, where he became the community's first postmasterDorian, Charles (1961). ''The First 75 Years, A Headline History of Sudbury, Canada''. Arthur H. Stockwell Limited, Ilfracombe, Devon Thomas, Ray and Pearsall, Kathy (1994). ''Sudbury''. Boston Mills Press. .Wallace, C. M.; & Thomson, Ashley (Eds.) (1993). ''Sudbury: Rail Town to Regional Capital'' (3rd ed.)

Dundurn Press Dundurn Press is one of the largest Canadian-owned book publishing companies of adult and children's fiction and non-fiction. The company publishes Canadian literature, history, biography, politics and arts. Dundurn has about 2500 books in print, ...

. . in 1884. In 1885, he established the community's first general store, and was elected reeve of McKim Township. When Sudbury was incorporated as a town in 1893, he became the town's first mayor, and served a second term as mayor in 1896. Fournier was also chair of the town's first

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

; classes were initially held in his own home until the town's first school was built. Fournier Gardens on Louis Street in Sudbury was named in his honour.

References

External links

Stephen Fournier bio at Sudbury Living Magazine
1852 births 1929 deaths Franco-Ontarian people French Quebecers Mayors of Sudbury, Ontario People from Trois-Pistoles, Quebec Ontario school board trustees Canadian postmasters {{Ontario-mayor-stub