Mayo, Quebec

Mayo
Municipality
Location within Papineau RCM.
Mayo Location in western Quebec.
Coordinates: 45°40′N 75°21′W / 45.667°N 75.350°WCoordinates: 45°40′N 75°21′W / 45.667°N 75.350°W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Outaouais
RCM	Papineau
Constituted	August 1, 1864
Government[2]
• Mayor	Gaëtan Brunet
• Federal riding	Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel
• Prov. riding	Papineau
Area[2][3]
• Total	77.50 km^2 (29.92 sq mi)
• Land	72.06 km^2 (27.82 sq mi)
Population (2011)[3]
• Total	572
• Density	7.9/km^2 (20/sq mi)
• Pop 2006-2011	4.2%
• Dwellings	347
Time zone	EST (UTC−5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s)	J8L 4J7
Area code(s)	819
Highways	Route 315

Mayo is a municipality in the Papineau Regional County Municipality of western Quebec, located northeast of the city of Gatineau (Buckingham sector). Mayo is south of the hamlet of Mulgrave-et-Derry.

Statistics

Population,	550 (2006)[4]
Area	72,08 km^2[4]
Quebec Electoral Riding	Papineau[2]
Date Founded	August 1, 1864[2]
Language	English Speaking: 170 French Speaking: 195 Bilingual: 25 [5]

History

The area which would become the municipality of Mayo in 1864, just north of the township of Lochaber, began to be settled in the nineteenth century mainly by Irish and German immigrants as well as French Canadians.^[6] The Irish settlers arrived in Mayo between 1820-1830, pre-famine immigrants. They would have arrived in Montreal and traveled along the Ottawa river and then along the Blanche River. The settlers would have found great comfort in their new surroundings, the hilly terrain resembling that of Ireland, and subsequently their new home was named Mayo after County Mayo in Ireland.^[7] The main industries which drive the economics of the municipality were, and still are, farming and forestry as well as the manufacturing of potash.^[6]

Our Lady of Knock Shrine

The people of Mayo had a strong connection with their Irish roots. The parish of St. Malachy in Mayo was very important in the municipality's connection with Ireland. In County Mayo, Ireland there is a town called Knock where, in 1879, there were reports of an apparition of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and St. John. The story of this miracle was brought to Canada as early as 1882, and in 1949 the then pastor of St. Malachy, Father Braceland, was inspired to construct a replica of the Our Lady of Knock Shrine in Mayo.^[8]

La Blanche Forest

The La Blanche forest, located on the eastern shores of La Blanche Lake in Mayo and Mulgrave-et-Derry, contains rare old-growth forest and many endangered plant species such as ginseng. The forest is protected in the Forêt-la-Blanche Ecological Reserve, a 20.52 square kilometres (7.92 sq mi) area of preservation for this forest which has been sheltered from disturbance for centuries. The forest is also home to many species of rare birds such as the blue heron and the cerulean warbler.^[9] The La Blanche forest was designated a permanent protected area in October 2003 giving it the legal distinction of an ecological reserve, the highest protection possible in Quebec^[10]

References

1. Reference number 39941 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (French)
2. Municipalité: Mayo - Répertoire des municipalités du Québec - MAMR, Retrieved September 22, 2007
3. "(Code 2480065) Census Profile". 2011 census. Statistics Canada. 2012.
4. "2006 Community Profiles". Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population. 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
5. 1996 Community Profile, Statistics Canada, 1996 Census of Population, Retrieved on September 21, 2007.
6. MRC Papineau, Les Municipalités, Mayo (2006), Retrieved on September 21, 2007.
7. Our Lady of Victory/ St. Malachy, Pilgrimage (2004), Retrieved on September 21, 2007.
8. Our Lady of Victory/ St. Malachy, Pilgrimage (2004), Retrieved on September 21, 2007.
9. Ecological Reserve, La Blanche Ecological Reserve , Retrieved on September 24, 2007.
10. Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, CPAWS Ottawa Valley Chapter (2004), Retrieved on September 24, 2007.