History

Known as the Maple Capital of the World, Plessisville is the oldest municipality of the Bois-Francs region.

Historically, Jean-Baptiste Lafond and his son arrived at Somerset in the fall of 1835.  There, they discovered majestic forests nourished by rich and fertile soil, favourable for settling.

It wasn't long before a large number of settlers, following in Jean-Baptiste's footsteps, came to clear the land in the hopes of exploiting the agricultural potential of this vast region.

In less than ten years, the small community grew remarkably.  Around 1845, Somerset had 143 inhabitants and in 1848, they could already take the provincial road to Quebec city.

Several years later, in 1854, it also became possible to travel by the Grand Trunk Railway.

During the years of 1855, the village of Somerset was incorporated officelly in the village of Plessisville.

30 years after its inauguration, on May 16th, 1885, a major fire that levelled the church, the presbytery and the foundry, along with 60 houses, shook the young town to its foundations.  Despite all this, the inhabitants continued to work passionately to contribute to the development of their municipality.

In 1928, La Coopérative des producteurs de sucre d’érable du Québec  chose Plessisville as the location of its first processing factory.  Combined with the industrial activity already in place since the end of the 19th century, it was a major event in the history of our municipality.  Primarily devoted to farming, the residents knew how to organize the town's economic growth to decisively enter the industrial era.