Farnham, Quebec

Farnham
City
Farnham Town Hall.
Coat of arms
Location within Brome-Missisquoi RCM.
Farnham Location in southern Quebec.
Coordinates: 45°17′N 72°59′W / 45.283°N 72.983°W / 45.283; -72.983Coordinates: 45°17′N 72°59′W / 45.283°N 72.983°W / 45.283; -72.983[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montérégie
RCM	Brome-Missisquoi
Settled	1800
Constituted	March 8, 2000
Government [2][3]
• Mayor	Patrick Melchior
• Federal riding	Brome—Missisquoi
• Prov. riding	Brome-Missisquoi
Area [2][4]
• Total	94.10 km2 (36.33 sq mi)
• Land	92.04 km2 (35.54 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[4]
• Total	8,330
• Density	90.5/km2 (234/sq mi)
• Pop 2006-2011	6.7%
• Dwellings	3,852
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J2N
Area code(s)	450 and 579
Highways	Route 104 Route 233 Route 235
Geocode	46112
People	Farnhamien Farnhamienne
Website	www.ville.farnham.qc.ca

Farnham is a city in Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 8,330, making it the second most populated community in the RCM.

History[]

The city of Farnham takes its name from the historic . The latter is one of the few townships established before 1800, and was named in remembrance of Farnham, UK. The first "Farnhamiens", mostly Loyalists from the United States, arrived in 1800.

On December 28, 1876, Farnham got the status of "town". On March 8, 2000, the town of Farnham and the municipality of Rainville merged to form the new "City of Farnham". The total population is now numbered at 8,000 inhabitants.

Farnham is also the site of an important military training camp, used primarily by the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School and local militia.

Geography[]

Built on the shores of the Yamaska River, at the border of the Saint-Lawrence lowlands, the city of Farnham is located in the center of important cities such as Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (West) and Granby (North-East).

Demographics[]

Population[]

hideCanada census – Farnham, Quebec community profile
		2011	2006
Population:		8,330 (+6.7% from 2006)	7,809 (+0.8% from 2001)
Land area:		92.04 km2 (35.54 sq mi)	92.04 km2 (35.54 sq mi)
Population density:		90.5/km2 (234/sq mi)	84.8/km2 (220/sq mi)
Median age:		43.1 (M: 42.3, F: 43.8)	43.2 (M: 42.0, F: 44.6)
Total private dwellings:		3,852	3,553
Median household income:		$45,674	$42,609
References: 2011[4] 2006[5] earlier[6]

Historical Census Data - Farnham, Quebec^[7]

Year Pop. ±% 1991 6,146 —     1996 6,044 −1.7%	Year Pop. ±% 2000A 7,899 +30.7% 2001 7,747 −1.9%	Year Pop. ±% 2006 7,809 +0.8% 2011 8,330 +6.7%
(A) amalgamation of the Town of Farnham and the Municipality of Rainville on March 8, 2000.

Language[]

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Farnham, Quebec[7]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2011		8,170		7,675	7.3%	93.94%		320	14.3%	3.92%		85	5.6%	1.04%		90	28.0%	1.10%
2006		7,645		7,150	0.8%	93.53%		280	27.3%	3.66%		90	21.7%	1.18%		125	177.8%	1.63%
2001		7,585		7,205	31.6%	94.99%		220	13.7%	2.90%		115	27.8%	1.52%		45	25.0%	0.59%
1996		5,880		5,475	n/a	93.11%		255	n/a	4.34%		90	n/a	1.53%		60	n/a	1.02%

Attractions[]

Petite Église - once an old church, the newly renovated building is now a fully functional recording studio, owned and operated by Montreal-based indie rock band Arcade Fire.^[8] The band announced on January 18, 2013, that they are selling the church they had been using as a studio.^[9] Other notable bands to have recorded at Petite Église include Wolf Parade and Hot Springs. The church is now owned by Emery Street Records, and continues to be used as a recording studio.^[10]

Activities[]

Located in Farnham is a skydiving school, Nouvel Air. Farnham has an arena named in honour of Madeleine Auclair. Since the 1990s Farnham has had a skate board park, which hosts an annual festival every August named "Skatefest de Farnham". Southeast of Farnham is the golf course "Club de Golf de Farnham".

Farnham is on the route of both the Montérégiade Farnham/Granby and Route verte bicycle paths.

Transportation[]

Farnham is home to Farnham railway station, a disused station belonging to the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Notable people[]

• In 2006, the members of the group Arcade Fire purchased the Petite Église, an old church that was renovated into a permanent recording studio for the band. After recording the albums Neon Bible and The Suburbs at the location, the band put the studio up for sale in 2013 citing "roof problems" as the cause for the sale.
• H. H. Bennett, photographer, was born in Farnham.
• Sylvain Charlebois, Author, known researcher and expert at Dalhousie University in food distribution and policy, was born in Farnham. He is the son of Farnham's first woman mayor, Lyse Lafrance-Charlebois (1991-2000).
• Simon Durivage, a known journalist in Province of Québec, was born in Farnham.
• Alain Forand, commanded the southern UNTAES forces in Croatia, and the Land Force Quebec Area during the Saguenay Flood operation and the Ice Storm of 1998.
• Ludger Lemieux, architect, was born in Farnham.
• Yvan Ponton, a known comedian in Province of Québec, was born in Farnham.
• Yves Rodier, comic strip creator, known for his many pastiches of The Adventures of Tintin, was born in Farnham.

See also[]

• List of cities in Quebec
• Municipal history of Quebec

References[]

External links[]

Media related to Farnham, Quebec at Wikimedia Commons

• Official web site