Piopolis, Quebec

Piopolis
Municipality
Location within Le Granit RCM
Location within Le Granit RCM
Piopolis is located in Southern Quebec
Piopolis
Piopolis
Location in southern Quebec
Coordinates: 45°29′N 70°54′W / 45.483°N 70.900°W / 45.483; -70.900[1]
Country Canada
Province Quebec
RegionEstrie
RCMLe Granit
ConstitutedJanuary 1, 1880
Government
[2]
 • MayorAndré St-Marseille
 • Federal ridingMégantic—L'Érable
 • Prov. ridingMégantic
Area
[2][3]
 • Total111.70 km2 (43.13 sq mi)
 • Land103.38 km2 (39.92 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[3]
 • Total398
 • Density3.8/km2 (10/sq mi)
 • Pop 2016-2021
Increase 11.2%
 • Dwellings
315
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)
G0Y 1H0
Area code819
Highways R-263
Websitewww.piopolis.quebec

Piopolis is a municipality of about 400 people in Le Granit Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region in Quebec, Canada.

Megantic Lake in Piopolis

The name of the town means, 'city of the Pope' in recognition of the service of loyal Roman Catholics who answered the call by Pope Pius IX to defend The Vatican in 1860. A group of 14 returned Papal Zouaves, led by a missionary priest departed Montreal in 1871 and traveled by rail, stagecoach and on foot to land grants on the borders of the diocese of Trois-Rivières, in the township of Marston, on the edge of Lake Mégantic to build a new city dedicated to Pope Pius IX who they had served in Rome. There they discovered only a small logging camp building.

Piopolis was officially founded on September 24, 1871. All but one of the original settlers left over the following decades. At its peak, the parish's population was in 1932 with 37 families and 523 souls. In 2011, la Halte des Zouaves was opened as a tourist stop on the Route des Sommets to display the history of the Municipality. The present day population is approximately 400 and supports several small businesses, the municipal office, and garage.[4]

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  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference mamrot was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference cp2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)