TopClassified heritage building (Québec) · 1760–1778Powder magazine at Poste-de-Traite-de-la-Métabetchouane243 rue HébertPhoto: Fralambert · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Powder magazine at Poste-de-Traite-de-la-Métabetchouane · Photo: Fralambert · CC BY-SA 3.01historic place on the registers
History of Desbiens · Canada’s heritage registers
History in Desbiens goes back to 1760: Powder magazine at Poste-de-Traite-de-la-Métabetchouane
Desbiens has kept more old homes than most towns: 46% were built before 1961, against 18%. Inside the town there is 1 historic place, a top designation. Wikidata’s date for the municipality is August 16, 1926; it may record a founding, an incorporation or an amalgamation.
Historic places
1
Highest designations
1
National Historic Sites, classified federal buildings and Québec’s classements
Oldest building
1760
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
46%
typical town: 18%
The map
Where Desbiens’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designations
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 1, by tier
1 Highest designations
Parks Canada’s federal directory and Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel supply these places: federal designations, the province’s classements and the municipalities’ citations.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Highest designations
One place in Desbiens with the highest designation
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Each one opens its own page.
Around the town
14 historic places within 25 km of Desbiens
Métabetchouane archaeological site in Chambord is the nearest, 1.9 km away. Between them, 5 towns share them, mainly Chambord, Roberval and Hébertville. They are 7 municipal citations, 4 places classified by Québec and 2 National Historic Sites.
The 12 nearest, within 25 km
| Métabetchouane archaeological siteClassified heritage site (Québec) · 1676 · 1.9 km away, in Chambord |
| Auberge Saint-LouisMunicipal citation (Québec) · 1875 · 8.6 km away, in Chambord |
| Maison Laurent-LétourneauMunicipal citation (Québec) · 1906 · 8.8 km away, in Chambord |
| 819, route de la PointeMunicipal citation (Québec) · 1863 · 12 km away, in Chambord |
| Historic Village of Val-JalbertNational Historic Site · 1901–1928 · 16 km away, in Chambord |
| Val-JalbertClassified heritage site (Québec) · 1901 · 17 km away, in Chambord |
| Carré Curé-HébertCited heritage site (Québec) · 18 km away, in Hébertville |
| Maison Rémi-HudonMunicipal citation (Québec) · 1862 · 20 km away, in Hébertville |
| VIA Rail Station, Hébertville, QuebecHeritage Railway Station · 1931–1934 · 21 km away, in Hébertville-Station |
| Maison DonaldsonClassified heritage building (Québec) · 1872–1876 · 23 km away, in Roberval |
| Ancien presbytère Notre-DameMunicipal citation (Québec) · 1892 · 23 km away, in Roberval |
| Couvent des UrsulinesMunicipal citation (Québec) · 1925–1926 · 23 km away, in Roberval |
Homes by age
Nothing new from 2016 to 2021 in Desbiens, against 4.1% elsewhere
More than half of Desbiens’s housing predates 1981. Only 6.6% of Desbiens’s homes were built from 2001 to 2015, less than the typical town’s 15%. In Desbiens, 26% of homes date from 1961 to 1980, much as in most towns (27%).
46%
Before 1961
26%
1961–80
21%
1981–2000
6.6%
2001–15
0%
2016–21
DesbiensTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Neighbours
Desbiens and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desbiens | 1,034 | 1 | 1 | 1760 |
| Métabetchouan--Lac-à-la-Croix | 4,230 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Chambord | 1,800 | 6 | 3 | 1676 |
| Saint-Gédéon | 2,349 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Desbiens in brief
Housing in Desbiens includes 46% built before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. In all there are 1 historic place, one with the highest designation, including Powder magazine at Poste-de-Traite-de-la-Métabetchouane. The rest is about typical: its designation dates from 1967.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Québec’s register. Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel records the province’s classements and declarations and every municipal citation, each with a description and a point.
- The federal register. Every federal designation is in Parks Canada’s directory, and the Canadian Register of Historic Places gives most of them a bilingual statement of significance.
- People and events. Parks Canada’s open file gives its national historic persons no place. A town’s page names one only when the person was born there (matched by name and both life years) or one of its own historic places carries the name and its record speaks of them; national historic events stay off.
- The grade. History is described, not graded, for every Canadian town.
- The tiers. Three tiers: the top for National Historic Sites, classified federal buildings and Québec’s classements, a second for the other federal designations, a third for provincial and municipal listings.
- Protection. Here the register is also the protection: classement and citation under Québec’s cultural heritage law control changes, while federal recognition does not.
Questions about Desbiens’s history
How old are the homes in Desbiens?
46% predate 1961, where the typical town has 18%.
What is the oldest building in Desbiens?
By its record, Powder magazine at Poste-de-Traite-de-la-Métabetchouane, from 1760 (Classified heritage building (Québec)).
Which places in Desbiens have the highest designation?
It is Powder magazine at Poste-de-Traite-de-la-Métabetchouane.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada). Québec register data: Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec, CC BY 4.0.
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec (MCC, Données Québec) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).