History of Saint-Gervais, Bellechasse, Québec, Canada

The municipality of Saint-Gervais occupies an area of nearly 88 square kilometers and is part of the administrative region of Chaudière-Appalaches and the regional county municipality of Bellechasse.

Saint-Gervais is located 25 kilometers southeast of Lévis and 25 kilometers southwest of Saint-Vallier. Bounded to the north by Saint-Charles, to the west by Saint-Anselme, to the east by Saint-Raphaël and to the south by Saint-Lazare, this rich agricultural parish is located in the heart of the MRC de Bellechasse.

During the period of the deportation of the Acadians, two groups of Acadians came to settle on the lands of the seigneur of Beaumont. In the winter of 1755-1756, Sieur Michel-Jean Péan, Lord of Livaudière, first granted the land to seven families of Acadian refugees, then to another group made up of thirteen families.

The economy of the locality is rather centered on agriculture, in particular, dairy and pig farming, as well as maple syrup production. Indeed, in Saint-Gervais we find the largest concentration of farmers in Bellechasse.

It should also be remembered that at the beginning of the 19th century, Saint-Gervais was among the first municipalities in Quebec to organize a factory school system.