Senneville () is an affluent on-island suburban village on the western tip of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the wealthiest town in the

West Island The West Island () is the unofficial name given to the cities, towns and boroughs at the western end of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. It is generally considered to consist of the Lakeshore municipalities of Dorval, Pointe-Cla ...

. Situated close to the city of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, it was historically a popular location for the country houses of wealthy Montrealers. Attractions include multiple golf clubs, a yacht club, and La Ferme du Fort Senneville, an organic demonstration farm. The

Morgan Arboretum The Morgan Arboretum is a forested reserve, on the McGill University Macdonald Campus in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue on the western tip of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Arboretum is a mixed-use woodland and recreational area, with an ...

was founded here in 1953, and is today managed by

Macdonald College The Macdonald Campus of McGill University (commonly referred to as the ‘Mac Campus’ or simply ’Mac’) houses McGill's Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (FAES), which includes the Institute of Parasitology, the School of Huma ...

; an important bird sanctuary, it is open to the public year-round.

Fort Senneville Fort Senneville is one of the outlying forts of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, built by the Canadiens of New France near the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue in 1671. The property was part of a fief ceded to Dugué de Boisbriant in 1672 by the Sulpicians. A ...

was constructed here in 1671, but its ruins are on private land and are not accessible to the public. The historic core of the village was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

in 2002.

Geography

All of Senneville lies over

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

. In contrast to the monotony of this bedrock, there are many types of

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

in the municipality.

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

is common near the northeastern corner and part of the western shores.

Sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

dominates many inland areas; it is rapidly drained in places but often has impeded drainage due to the type of hardpan which develops in

podzol In soil science, podzols are the typical soils of coniferous or boreal forests and also the typical soils of eucalypt forests and heathlands in southern Australia. In Western Europe, podzols develop on heathland, which is often a construct of ...

s. Near-shore areas along the northern margin have extensive areas of

glacial till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

which forms a calcareous well-drained loam. The loamy slopes overlooking

Lake of Two Mountains Lake of Two Mountains (French: ''Lac des Deux Montagnes'') is part of the river delta widening of the Ottawa River in Quebec, Canada, at its confluence with the St. Lawrence River. Lake of Two Mountains has four outflows: Rivière des Mille Îl ...

are excellent for fruit trees and tender plants due to fertile soils, good drainage, and the moderating effect on microclimate provided by the lake.

History

Because of its strategic location at the far western end of Montreal Island, a stockade fort was built there in 1671. In 1679,

Jacques Le Ber Jacques Le Ber ( c. 1633 – 25 November 1706) was a merchant and seigneur in Montreal, New France. In 1686 he was ennobled by Louis XIV and took the title Jacques Le Ber de Saint-Paul de Senneville, based on his hometown of Senneville-sur-F� ...

, fur trader from Montreal, bought the Boisbriand Fief from Michel Sidrac Dugé, and renamed it to Senneville after

Senneville-sur-Fécamp Senneville-sur-Fécamp (, literally ''Senneville on Fécamp'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A farming village, by the coast of the English Channel, in the Pays de Caux, situat ...

, his hometown in France. Le Ber operated a fur trading post there and built a stone windmill at the fort in 1686, which also served as a focal point for settlers in the area. In 1689, the

Battle of the Lake of Two Mountains The Battle of the Lake of Two Mountains (french: Bataille du Lac-des-Deux-Montagnes) was a battle of the Beaver Wars between the colony of New France and the Iroquois Confederacy that occurred on October 16, 1689. The battle occurred in respo ...

took place nearby. 1n 1691, the stockade and windmill were burned down by

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

and a new stone fort was constructed in 1702-1703, which lasted until 1776 when it was destroyed during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

by Continental Army troops under Benedict Arnold. The Village Municipality of Senneville was established on January 12, 1895, when it separated from the Parish of Sainte-Anne du Bout-de-l’Isle. The Senneville Post Office operated from 1911 to 1957. On January 1, 2002, as part of the

2002–2006 municipal reorganization of Montreal Montreal was one of the cities in Quebec affected by the 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec. On January 1, 2002, all the municipalities on the island of Montreal were merged into the city of Montreal. However, following a change of ...

, Senneville was merged into the city of Montreal and became part of the borough of Pierrefonds-Senneville. However, after a change of government and a 2004 referendum, it was re-constituted as an independent

village municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

on January 1, 2006.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, Senneville had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Government

The current mayor of the Village of Senneville is Julie Brisebois. In addition, there are six municipal councillors: #François Vaqué (District 1) #Alain Savoie (District 2) #Christopher Jackson (District 3) #Michelle Jackson Trepanier (District 4) #Dennis Dicks (District 5) #Peter Csenar (District 6)

Former mayors

List of former mayors: * Louis-Joseph Forget (1896–1911) * Frederic Lumb Wanklyn (1911–1914) * Guy Boyer (1914–1915) * Frederick Cleveland Morgan (1915–1919) * John Lancelot Todd (1919–1920) * R. MacD. Paterson (1920–1922) * George M. Bosworth (1922–1925) * Robert R. Macaulay (1925–1930) * William A. Fallis (1930–1933) * John Y. Phillips (1933–1935) * William George M. Stuart (1935–1936) * Thomas Arnold (1936–1937, 1939–1943) * Joseph Davison Weir (1937–1939) * Guy Mansfield Todd (1943–1947) * Luther H. D. Sutherland (1947–1951) * Adélard Raymond (1951–1959) * Edward R. Smallhorn (1959–1967) * Bernard Whittaker Burgess (1967–1975) * Cameron F. Duff (1975–1986) * Ovila Crevier (1986–1995) * George MacLeish (1995–2002, 2006–2013) * Jane Foukai (Guest (2013–2017) * Julie Brisebois (2017–present)

Education

The ''

Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys The Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys is an autonomous school service centre on Montreal Island, Quebec, Canada, appointed by the Ministry of Education. Its headquarters is in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal. Its education ...

'' operates Francophone public schools, but were previously operated by the ''

Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys The Marguerite-Bourgeoys School Board (') was a French language public School Board on Montreal Island, Quebec, Canada. Its headquarters was in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal. Its education centre was in LaSalle, also in Montreal. It wa ...

'' until June 15, 2020. The change was a result of a law passed by the Quebec government that changed the school board system from denominational to

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

. It operates the École secondaire Saint-Georges. The

Lester B. Pearson School Board The Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB, french: Commission scolaire Lester-B.-Pearson, CSLBP) is one of the largest school boards on the island of Montreal and one of the nine English school boards in the province of Quebec. It is headquartere ...

(LBPSB) operates Anglophone public schools in the area. * The zoned elementary school is Dorset Elementary School in

Baie-D'Urfé Baie-D'Urfé (; previously Baie d'Urfé or Baie d'Urfee) is an on-island suburb of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is part of the West Island area of the Island of Montreal. As part of the 2002–2006 municipal reorganization of Montreal, Baie-D'Ur ...

School Board Map
"

. Retrieved on September 28, 2017.

Notable residents

Notable past and present residents include: *

Ken Dryden Kenneth Wayne Dryden (born August 8, 1947) is a Canadian politician, lawyer, businessman, author, and former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was a Liber ...

, politician, lawyer, businessman, author, and former NHL goalie * Corey Hart, singer-songwriter *

Janina Fialkowska Janina Fialkowska, (born May 7, 1951) is a Canadian classical pianist. A specialist of the Classic and Romantic repertoires, for more than thirty years she has appeared regularly with professional orchestras around the world, often performing the ...

, classical pianist *

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...

, stage, film, and television actor *

Lino Saputo Emanuele "Lino" Saputo, (; born June 10, 1937) is an Italian-Canadian billionaire businessman. He is the founder of the Canadian cheese manufacturer Saputo Inc. According to ''Forbes'', he has an estimated net worth of US$4.7 billion as ...

, founder of the Canadian cheese manufacturer Saputo Inc.

References

External links

*
Gordon & Gotch's 1924 Map of the Island of Montreal

Senneville is named on this map
{{MontrealNeighbourhoods Villages in Quebec Island of Montreal municipalities West Island Populated places established in 1679