Waltham, Quebec

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Waltham
nickname =
motto =


imagesize = 245px
image_caption =


flag_size = 120x100px
image_shield =
shield_size = 120x100px


mapsize =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Canada
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Quebec
subdivision_type2 = Region
subdivision_name2 = Outaouais
established_title =
established_date =
established_title2 = Incorporation
established_date2 = 1859
government_type = Municipality
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Wayne Venne
area_total_km2 = 451.43
area_land_km2 = 375.71
area_water_km2 =
area_footnotes = [Total area: [http://www.mamr.gouv.qc.ca/cgi-bin/repert1.pl?region=&mrc=&geo=84070&muni= Affaires municipales et régions Québec (MAMR)]
Land area: Statistics Canada]
population_as_of= 2006
population_footnotes = [Statistics Canada 2006 census]
population_total = 360
population_density_km2 = 1.0
timezone = EST
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
postal_code_type = Postal Code
postal_code = J0X 3H0
latd = 45 | latm = 54 | lats = 28 | latNS = N
longd = 76 | longm = 54 | longs = 40 | longEW = W
elevation_footnotes=
elevation_m =
website =
footnotes =

Waltham is a village and municipality in the Outaouais region, part of the Pontiac Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. It is located at the mouth of the Noire River, along the north shore of the Ottawa River at Allumette Island.

The municipality consists of the hamlet of Carroll and the village of Waltham, both near the Ottawa Rivercite web |url=http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/topos/carto.asp?Speci=66584&Latitude=45,95&Longitude=-76,91666&Zoom=1700 |title=Canton de Waltham |accessdate=2008-04-14 |publisher=Commission de toponymie du Québec |language=French] between Chichester and Mansfield-et-Pontefract, about km to mi|30 west of Fort-Coulonge.cite web |url=http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/topos/carto.asp?Speci=333389&Latitude=45,91666&Longitude=-76,91666&Zoom=1700 |title=Municipalité de Waltham |accessdate=2008-04-14 |publisher=Commission de toponymie du Québec |language=French] Quebec Route 148 connects Waltham to Allumettes Island and Pembroke, Ontario.

Its territory, with a maximum elevation of just over m to ft|350|precision=-1, is sparsely populated, the majority of the population living along or near the Ottawa River. The northern portion is a vast extended tract of undeveloped land, dotted with lakes, such as Findlay, Landon, Gagnon, and Caughlin, which are popular for fishing.

History

The name Waltham, mentionned on the Gale and Duberger map of 1795, comes from a place on the River Lea in Essex, England, named Waltham Abbey. In 1849, the Waltham Township was formed. In 1859, it was officially reorganized into a township municipality, also named Waltham, and its first mayor was John T. Coghlan.cite web |url=http://www.mrcpontiac.qc.ca/en/dossiers/dossiers.php?id_dossier=47 |title=Waltham municipality |accessdate=2008-04-15 |publisher=Pontiac MRC Gateway]

In 1869, the Bryson Township was annexed, creating the United Township Municipality of Waltham-et-Bryson. The name Bryson comes from George Bryson Sr. (1813–1900), influential logging merchant, and mayor of Mansfield-et-Pontefract. In 1888, the railroad from Fort-Coulonge to Waltham was completed but not until August 27, 1894, was the railroad opened by the Pontiac Pacific Junction Railway Company.cite web |title=Significant dates in Ottawa railway history |url=http://www.railways.incanada.net/candate/ottawa.htm |work=Colin Churcher's Railway Pages |date=2006-07-30 |accessdate=2006-08-25] Four years later, in 1898, a post office was established, called Waltham Station.

In 1937, a hydroelectric generating station and dam were built across the Noire River just north of Waltham village, forming a reservoir called Robinson Lake.cite web |url=http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/topos/carto.asp?Speci=385339&Latitude=45,91944&Longitude=-76,92083&Zoom=1700 |title=Barrage de Waltham |accessdate=2008-04-14 |publisher=Commission de toponymie du Québec |language=French]

In 1959, rail service to Waltham is discontinued, and in 1984 the railline was removed and later turned into the Cycloparc PPJ bike path stretching from Bristol, Quebec, to Pembroke, Ontario.cite web |url=http://cycloparcppj.org/histoire_a.htm#The%20Railroad%20of%20the%20Pontiac |title=History of the railroad PPJ |accessdate=2008-04-15 |publisher=CLD du Pontiac]

In 1997, Waltham-et-Bryson is reorganized into the Municipality of Waltham.

Demographics

Population: [Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census]

* Population in 2006: 360
* Population in 2001: 425
** 2001 to 2006 population change: -15.3%
* Population in 1996: 496
* Population in 1991: 466

Total private dwellings (excluding seasonal cottages): 153

Languages:

* English as first language: 69%
* French as first language: 25%
* English and French as first language: 3%
* Other as first language: 3%

References

Geographic Location (8-way)
Centre = Waltham
North =

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