Settlement In 1849, the first families arrived on the northern fringe of the area, which was a settlement established by
Augustin-Norbert Morin. Beginning in 1850, a rapid
colonization of the region began. The arriving families were primarily of
French Catholic background. The village is centred on a Catholic
church built in 1904. In 1865, the land on which the church stands was donated to the parish by Dr. Luc-Eusèbe Larocque, brother of the Monsignor. Dr. Larocque had amassed a fortune in the
California Gold Rush and had decided to live the life of a
seigneur. He bought several farms around Lac à la Truite (Trout Lake) and area but was too kind-hearted to ask for the rents. There is also a smaller
Anglican church, "Holy Trinity Anglican Parish", in the town. In 1926 the
Lord Bishop of the
Anglican Church of Montreal presided over the dedication of the current building. The English
Protestant community grew from the time the train first arrived in 1892.
Development With the completion of a railway to Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts in 1892, the town experienced a rapid increase in population. Between 1892 and 1911, a number of
spas and hospitals were established. In 1899, a
tuberculosis hospital was founded by Dr. Arthur Richer. Elizabeth Wand, a nurse from New York City established a spa, which still operates as Auberge Tour du Lac. It was believed at the time that fresh mountain air could help cure tuberculosis and other pulmonary diseases. By 1910, many wealthy families from
Montreal and northern United States had built residences along the shoreline of Lac des Sables. Octavien Rolland, third son of J.B. Rolland, founder of
Rolland Paper was among the first to arrive. Between 1892 and 1910, the assessed value of the buildings in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts had increased 20 times. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the town was a popular tourist centre with large resort hotels and many shops and restaurants.
Recent times In the 1980s, Sainte-Agathe grew as a four-season tourist destination with a broad range of activities for cottagers and residents alike. As a growing service-centre for the surrounding region, its economic base became more diverse with a strong foundation of tourism activities that included, in the summer, horse-back riding, boating, fishing, and lakeside recreation, as well as the winter activities of cross-country skiing, dog-sled racing, skating, and ice hockey. While the train is no longer in service, there is an extensive bike path that has replaced it called
"Le Petit Train Du Nord". It directly connects to other paths that extend as far as Montreal. Today, the town is characterized by its history and tradition of
B&Bs, inns, hotels, and spas. As a growing municipality, it has a developing service area that includes a new
Walmart,
Super 8, and
Jean Coutu (among others) strategically placed on the edge of the town so as to not affect its village atmosphere. On February 27, 2002, Sainte-Agathe-Nord and
Ivry-sur-le-Lac merged with Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts to form an expanded city; however Ivry-sur-le-Lac later demerged in 2006.
English community Next to
Mont Tremblant, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts has the largest population of English-speaking summer cottage residents in the Laurentians (with a smaller but still sizable winter cottage population as well, particularly on the weekends). Generations of English-speaking cottagers from Montreal,
Ontario, New York and
New Jersey vacation amidst the lakes and mountains surrounding the town. ==Geography==