The origins of Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce go back to the days of
New France, when the seigneury of Saint-Joseph was granted to Pierre Rigaud de Vaudreuil in 1736. However, it was Joseph de Fleury de La Gorgendière that we owe the establishment of a real seigneury, following an exchange with Rigaud. Joseph Fleury settled the first settlers there and then had a flour mill and a chapel built there in 1739. The founding of Saint-Joseph-de-la-Beauce dates back to 1737, making it one of the oldest localities in
Beauce. It is also from the first name of Joseph Fleury de la Gorgendière that the name of the city comes. Saint-Joseph, the first parish of Beauce, was founded in 1736. But it was its designation as the legal capital of Beauce in 1857 that explains the very high number of beautiful buildings for a city of only 5,000 inhabitants. The courthouse brought several notables to settle in the village and accelerated the creation of new businesses. Thanks to this economic prosperity, between 1865 and 1911, recognized architects were called for the construction of a church, a presbytery, a convent, an orphanage and a college. These buildings form an architectural ensemble classified as a historic site since 1985. It was in 1889 that Saint-Joseph was officially created. The village continued to grow and finally changed its status to became a city in 1965. It is also at this time that Saint-Joseph adopted its current name of Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce. The prestigious public buildings of the village encouraged local notables to build opulent residences in the surrounding streets. The whole forms a housing stock of rare diversity and great wealth, which earned the city the title of cultural capital of Canada in 2006. == Demographics ==