Gentilly, formerly known as "Saint-Édouard-de-Gentilly" is a village now part of Bécancour,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. It is one of the major population centres within Bécancour's extensive territory with 1673 inhabitants being counted in Gentilly during the last population census in 2016. The village is home to a traditionally French-speaking population and hosts the famous yearly Potirothon. While Gentilly is a small town, it has all the essential services and a warm/welcoming community. The Parc Regional de la Rivière Gentilly is close to town and offers hiking, camping, mountain biking and kayaking. It is also in proximity to the Parc Industriel de Bécancour where most industries are involved in manufacturing. Among these is the

Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station (''Centrale nucléaire de Gentilly'' in French) is a former nuclear power station located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in Bécancour, Quebec, 100 km north east of Montreal. The site contai ...

, decommissioned in 2012.

History

In 1647 the

Company of New France The Company of One Hundred Associates ( French: formally the Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France, or colloquially the Compagnie des Cent-Associés or Compagnie du Canada), or Company of New France, was a French trading and colonization company ch ...

, or Company of One Hundred Associates (Compagnie des Cent-Associés) as it was more commonly known, sold two

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

s to Nicolas Marsolet and Pierre Lefebvre on the shores of the Saint-Lawrence River and the Gentilly River. In 1668 Pierre Lefebvre gave his

title to his son-in-law Félix Thunès (Sieur Dufresne) who held it until 1669 when it was to Michel Pelletier (Sieur de Laprade). The same year Pelletier got Intendant Bouterouse to grant him a parcel of land bordering Nicolas Marsolet's fief. In 1671 Marsolet also sold his fief to Michel Pelletier, who now owned a parcel of land along about of coastline on the Saint Lawrence and reached inland. This was the land on which Gentilly would be established. In 1683, these three land concessions gained the status "seigneurie des Poissons". The Seigneurie de Gentilly was surveyed in March 1735, and the territory then became a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in 1784. The town was named ''Saint-Édouard-de-Gentilly'' after

Gentilly, Val-de-Marne Gentilly () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is the closest commune to Paris, located from the city center. Name The name Gentilly was recorded for the first time in the 6th century as ''Gentilly'', a royal estate of ...

, in France. On 10 April 1900, the parish of Saint-Édouard-de-Gentilly was broken up, and the town became an independent village, taking on the shorter name of Gentilly. On 17 October 1965 Gentilly was merged into the municipality of BécancourGazette officielle de Québec, 9 octobre 1965, 97e année, numéro 41, pages 5373-5375. and has been part of it since.

Notable people

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, OAL (; ; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He has received seven Canadian Screen Awards as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, and two ...

- film director and writer. * Lucien Dubois - member of

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

; author of "The History of Gentilly (1935)". *

Pépé et sa Guitare José Macia, better known as Pepe (born 25 February 1935), is a Brazilian former football player and manager. He is considered one of the greatest players in the history of Santos FC and one of the greatest left wingers of all time, being two- ...

- musician. *

Céline Baril Céline Baril (born 1953) is a Canadian artist and film director. Early life Baril was born in Gentilly, Quebec. In 1982, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal. Career Her film ''24 Davids'' wa ...

- artist and film director

Demographics

Of the resident population, 78.3% (1 310) speak only French, and 21.7% are bilingual in French and English.

References

{{Authority control Neighbourhoods in Bécancour