Roberval | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Roberval

A navigation centre for the lake and an internationally renowned summer resort until the early 20th century, Roberval also had a few sawmills. The Ursulines built their provincial convent here in 1882. A hospital was added in 1918.

Roberval

 Roberval, Qué, Town, pop 10 544 (2006c), 10 906 (2001c), inc 1976. Roberval is located on the southwest shore of Lac SAINT-JEAN. It is the county seat for Lac-Saint-Jean-Ouest (incorporated in 1892) and headquarters for the judicial district of Roberval (1912). Named for France's lieutenant-general in Canada in the 16th century, Roberval was founded in 1855 and grew rapidly after 1888 when the Québec-Lac-Saint-Jean railway company (amalgamated into the Canadian National Railway in 1917) decided to make the town its Lac Saint-Jean terminal. In 1903 it became the first municipality in the region to gain the status of a town. In 1976 it merged with the parish of Saint-Jean-de-Brébeuf (1930) to form the current town.

A navigation centre for the lake and an internationally renowned summer resort until the early 20th century, Roberval also had a few sawmills. The Ursulines built their provincial convent here in 1882. A hospital was added in 1918. Since then, Roberval has been the service centre of the area, and since 1955 it has yearly hosted the prestigious swim, the Traversée International du Lac-Saint-Jean.