In 1897, the Parish of Saint-Cléophas was formed when it separated from the parish of Saint-Félix-de-Valois. It seems that the name of Saint Cléophas was suggested by Édouard-Charles Fabre (1827-1896), archbishop of Montreal, to honour Cléophas Beausoleil (1845-1904), who was House of Commons member for Berthier from 1887 to 1899. That same year, its post office opened and a year later the Parish Municipality of Saint-Cléophas was established.[1]
In 1997, the parish municipality changed status to municipality and changed its name to Saint-Cléophas-de-Brandon in order to distinguish it from a namesake municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. The "Brandon" part refers to the geographic township of Brandon within which it is located.[1]
Geography
Inserted between Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon to the north and Saint-Norbert to the east, between the edge of the Laurentians and Saint-Félix-de-Valois, along the Bayonne River, Saint-Cléophas-de-Brandon is characterized by a landscape of hills and plains.