Circa 1850, the first settlers began to colonize the area, followed afterwards by families especially from the Charlevoix area. The settlement, the oldest village on the shores of Lake Saint-Jean, was first known as Notre-Dame-du-Lac-Saint-Jean, named after the parish founded in 1854. A few years later in 1857, the Municipality of Lac-Saint-Jean was formed but in 1859 was split into several municipalities including the Municipality of Roberval. It was named after the geographic township of Roberval, which in turn was named by surveyor Joseph Bouchette in honour of the first Lieutenant General of New FranceJean-François de la Roque de Roberval. In 1862, the Roberval post office opened. In 1884, the settlement separated from the municipality to form the Village Municipality of Roberval. It experienced rapid growth in the 1880s when Horace Jansen Beemer, an American entrepreneur from Philadelphia, came to Roberval. He established logging and sawmill businesses and led the construction of the railroad to Quebec City in 1888. Beemer personally took care of logging, land speculation, and construction of railway bridges. He also built a tourist complex in Roberval in 1898, centred on fishing for landlocked salmon and organized excursions to the Grande Décharge. A fire destroyed the Grand Hotel Roberval in 1908, putting an abrupt end to luxury tourism in the Lake Saint-Jean area. In 1903, the village of Roberval gained town status, and in 1956, city status. In 1976, it merged with the Municipality of Roberval to form the current city.
Demographics
Population trend:
Population in 2011: 10,227
Population in 2006: 10,544
Population in 2001: 10,906
Population in 1996: 11,640
Population in 1991: 11,628
Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 4,571 Mother tongue:
English as first language: 0.3%
French as first language: 98.8%
English and French as first language: 0%
Other as first language: 0.9%
Education
Roberval has two primary schools: Notre-Dame et Benoît-Duhamel and a secondary school la Cité Étudiante. There are also two centres for adult training: Ste-Ursules et le Centre de formation professionnelle.
The Ursulines
Founded in 1882 by Sister Saint-Raphaël, the Ursuline convent was the first domestic sciences school in Canada. There was also an agricultural school. Fires in 1897 and 1919 led to rebuilding and improvement of facilities. Following a fire in 2005, a portion of the convent was replaced by the Jardin des Ursulines, a craft vendors market. In 2011, after 129 years of service to the community, the Ursuline community left Roberval.
Climate
Roberval has a cold and highly seasonal humid continental climate, with mild summers, cold winters and high annual snowfall. Due to seasonal lag and influence from the nearby lake, September is well above the subarctic threshold as the fourth warmest month.
