It was formed from the merger in 1965 of Fort-Chambly (formerly Chambly-Canton prior to 1952) and the old city of Chambly (formerly Chambly-Basin prior to 1952, and earlier sometimes called Bassin-de-Chambly).
History
Descendants of European immigrants have lived in Chambly since the 17th century, but Chambly was not incorporated as a city until 1965.
Samuel de Champlain passed through the area that came to be the site of the town of Chambly, QC, in 1609., when he wrote the following in his journal:
The approach to the rapids is a sort of lake into which the water flows down, and it is about three leagues in circumference. Near by are meadows were no Indians live, by reason of the wars. At the rapids there is very little water, but it flows with great swiftness, and there are many rocks and boulders, so that the Indians cannot go up by water; but on the way back they run them very nicely. All this region is very level and full of forests, vines and butternut trees. No Christian has ever visited this land and we had all the misery of the world trying to paddle the river upstream.
Chambly is home to the massive Fort Chambly, built with local stone between 1709 and 1711 in the style of Vauban's classic French fortifications. It was built at the mouth of a large basin, on the site of successive wooden forts dating back to 1665. Fort Chambly was the largest in a series of fortifications on the shores of what was known as the Iroquois River (later known as the Chambly River, finally becoming the Richelieu River in the nineteenth century). Originally called Fort Saint-Louis, it soon came to be known by the name of its first commanding officer, Jacques de Chambly, to whom the surrounding seigniory was granted in 1672. It was intended to protect New France in general (and Montreal in specific) from attack from indigenous peoples and the English. Today, the fort is run by Parks Canada and is designated a National Historic Site of Canada, and houses a museum and interpretive centre, and hosts historical re-enactments of military drills (as well as a number of contemporary cultural events).
A small local population clustered around the fort, and the entire area eventually became known as Chambly as well. Among the buildings around the Fort was St. Stephen's Anglican Church, which was built to serve the soldiers in garrison as well as the local Loyalist and English settler population.
Trade dwindled after World War I, and as of the 1970s, traffic has been replaced by recreational vessels. Today the canal is enjoyed by tourists and more than 7,000 pleasure boats in the summer, and ice skaters in the winter.
St-Joseph of Chambly Church, at 164 rue Martel, was built between 1880 and 1881. The parish was founded in 1665.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Chambly had a population of 31,444 living in 12,405 of its 12,609 total private dwellings, a change of 8% from its 2016 population of 29,120. With a land area of 25.08 km2 (9.68 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,253.7/km2 (3,247.2/sq mi) in 2021.[7]
Chambly is home to the annual Festival Bières et Saveurs de Chambly (Chambly Beers and Flavours Festival), an annual beer and local food festival that takes place every Labour Day weekend since 2002. Minors are allowed to attend, but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times. There is a special zone in the festival area dedicated just for minors as well. The festival takes place just outside of Fort Chambly.[10][11]
^Kingsford, William (1892). The History of Canada, vol. 5. Roswell & Hutchinson. p. 440. A footnote references letters sent by Livingston on September 16 and 18 from Point Olivier.
^Pound, Richard W. (2005). 'Fitzhenry and Whiteside Book of Canadian Facts and Dates'. Fitzhenry and Whiteside.