Château-Richer () is a small town situated in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. Located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River east of Quebec City. It is the seat for the Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality.

The first rural parish in New France was established in 1678, by the members of La Compagnie-des-Cents-Associés. Château-Richer was the first home to Quebec's oldest families (les Greniers, Giroux, Vachons, Bélangers, Juchereaux, Cloutiers) with descendants remaining to this day. In fact, a fairly large segment of the town's population can be traced back to those enterprising pioneers tasked with establishing a fur-trading post while increasing the population.

The town stretches for several miles alongside Route 138. This road, originally known as Le Chemin du Roy (The King’s Road) or Le Chemin-Royal (The Royal Road), would later be renamed l’Avenue Royale . It is among the first roads to be built in North America.

In addition to the main namesake population centre, the municipality also includes the hamlets of Le Moyne (), Rivière-Cazeau (), Sault-à-la-Puce (), Saint-Achillée (), and Saint-Ignace ().

History In 1626, Samuel de Champlain established in Château-Richer the first farm in the Saint Lawrence valley, to feed the people of Quebec city. Jean Bourdon's map of 1641 is the earliest source that mentions the name "Chateau Richer", referring only to the cape or headland on which stands the present church. But the origin of this name remains uncertain. In 1646, Olivier Letardif, Lord and Chief Prosecutor, granted 20 concessions to the inhabitants of Château-Richer so that they could officially establish themselves properly.

In 1678, the local parish was formed, named La Visitation-de-Notre-Dame. On March 15, 1753, Château-Richer became very first organized village in New France. In 1832, the post office opened. In 1845, the municipality was first established but abolished in 1847. It was reestablished in 1855 when it was incorporated as a parish municipality. Château-Richer was the county town of defunct Montmorency County.

In 1968, it changed its status to "town" and became Ville de Château-Richer.

In 1971, a part of Château-Richer was dissolved and returned to unorganized.

Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Château-Richer had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Mother tongue (2021): English as first language: 0.8% French as first language: 97.7% English and French as first language: 0.7% Other as first language: 0.7%

Government List of former mayors:

Lemoine, H.: 1845–1848 Huot, Michel: 1849–1851 Renaud, Jean: 1852–1854 Rheaume, Charles: 1855–1857 Bernier, L.P.: 1858–1859 Gravel, Alexandre: 1860–1871 Cloutier, Vincent: 1872–1873 Tremblay, Onésime: 1874–1875 Cauchon, Pierre: 1876–1876 Cloutier, Edouard: 1877–1885 Gravel, Louis-Nérée: 1886–1887 Premont, Joseph: 1888–1888 Cloutier, Joseph. P.: 1889–1890 Gariepy, Edouard: 1890–1891 Simard, Etienne Romain: 1891–1891 Cote, François: 1882–1892 Laplante, François Xavier: 1883–1895 Cloutier, Nazaire: 1896–1899 Dick, Herménégilde: 1900–1900 Lefrancois, Amédée: 1901–1901 Jobidon, Julien: 1902–1902 Cloutier, Joseph: 1903–1916 Cloutier, Emile: 1917–1920 Cloutier, Joseph: 1921–1924 Lefrancois, Jules A.: 1925–1931 Jobidon, Hilaire: 1931–1933 Gravel, Edouard Lazare: 1933–1935 Jobidon, Pierre: 1935–1937 Cauchon, Léonidas: 1937–1939 Rheaume, Lucien: 1939–1959 Gagnon, Philippe: 1959–1965 Laplante, Omer: 1965–1967 Bolduc, Jean-Guy: 1967–1973 Premont, Paul-Emile: 1973–1977 Bolduc, Jean-Guy: 1977–1978 Verreault, Noël: 1978–1985 Laplante, Léo: 1985–1993 Cloutier, Jean-Guy: 1993–2005 Dancause, Frédéric: 2005–2017 Robitaille, Jean: 2017–2021 Pouliot, Gino: 2021–present

Notable people Louis-Théodore Besserer, a prominent businessman of Ottawa, was born in Château-Richer.

See also Centre d'Interprétation de la Côte-de-Beaupré Rivers flowing through Château-Richer Cazeau River Chenal de l'Île d'Orléans Rivière aux Chiens (Côte-de-Beaupré) Rivière la Retenue Rivière du Sault à la Puce List of cities in Quebec

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