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Neuville, Quebec (Canada)

Capitale-Nationale

image by Masao Okazaki, 28 February 2021

Municipality
Description of the flag
Coat of arms
Logo flag

See also:

Municipality

Neuville was granted to Jean Bourdon, whose son, Jean-François Bourdon Dombourg established the first colonists in 1667. Colonization was fostered by the establishment of a grain mill in 1668 and several marriages with King's Daughters* between 1668 and 1670.
The domain of Dombourg was acquired in 1680 by Nicolas Dupont, lord of Neuville, and renamed to domain of Neuville / Pointe-aux-Trembles. Pointe-aux-Trembles (Aspens' Point) refers to a small peninsula grown with aspens. In 1683, Neuville was the third most populous domain in Nouvelle-France, with 372 inhabitants.

The parish of Saint-François-de-Sales-de-Neuville was established in 1684. The village was formed only in 1754, indeed composed of the church, the presbytery and the convent, and of several scattered farms. Bourg Saint-Louis, the present-day's downtown, had only 10 houses in 1802, but construction boomed in the next three decades.
http://www.ville.neuville.qc.ca/
Municipal website

*The King's Daughters were 800 young French women recruited and paid by the king to foster the colonization of Nouvelle-France. Whatever the black legend says, they were not prostitutes. They married in Quebec and gave birth to several children. among their notable descendants are Hillary Clinton, Angelina Jolie, Madonna and Chloé Sevigny.
Ivan Sache, 14 March 2021

Coat of arms

"Azure a chevron argent surrounded dexter by a hammer in pale and a gouge and a chisel crossed in saltire sinister by three spikes of maize and in base a three-master all or. Beneath the shield a scroll or inscribed with the motto 'Fier du passé, foi en l'avenir' [Proud of the Past, Faith in the Future].

The arms were designed by Lucien Godbout, member of the Société d'Héraldique du Canada, and drawn by Louis Gosselin, Professor at CÉGEP Limoilou in Neuville.

Azure is a symbol of peace. It is a restful and very deep color. Azure recalls the blue sky that conceals the power and force of all elements of the celestial vault. Azure also recalls the deep sea, where divers can't stop enlightening us by showing image of underwater life and resources.
Azure or blue is appropriate to characterize Neuville, as a calm and restful place where living and working are easy.

Like the underwater depths and the celestial vault, Neuville has a great array of citizens, laborers, stone and wood craftsmen, farmers and workers exercising all kinds of jobs, who all contribute works and products of very high quality. This is emphasized by the shield's charges: maize spikes, wood sculpture tools, and the famous three-master.

The blue field represents great and majestic river Saint-Lawrence, as described by an English officer heading to Quebec: "The landscape of the two banks of the river is outstanding, especially on the southern coast we have been sailing along. A European can hardly imagine such a diverse ans splendid panorama like the one lining the Saint-Lawrence, the king of rivers. It is indeed a wonderful waterway, dotted with islands and scattered villages whose picturesque churches and white houses offer view difficult to transcribe."

Argent (white) symbolizes the material resources, which are abundant in Neuville, namely farm products and the famous Neuville maize.

Or (yellow) symbolizes light, life, the sun and all the spiritual resources, from the soul (faith), from the spirit (diverse skills), and from the heart (love).

The chevron proclaims the valor and merits of all inhabitants of Neuville, past and present, who have offered outstanding works and products of great quality.
The chevron is composed of two wooden pieces unite in point, forming an inverted 'V". It is a tribute to all the carpenters, sculptors and other workers who built our old houses with such smooth and beautiful roofs. It is a tribute to all this craftsmen.
The chevron represents Neuville's past and present, which are united to proclaim: "Success is on top. To reach it, climb the two slopes of courage and work. You will reach the stop and stay there."
The chevron is also the image of the town of Neuville, as a town that always offered shelter to its inhabitants and protected them. The town wants to support them and tho help them climbing the slopes of success.
The chevron, finally, highlights Neuville's history as well as its footnotes, its past and present. This is emphasized by the sculpture tools, the spikes and the ship.

The stone-cutter's hammer recalls that Neuville's quarries supplied a high quality stone. Several inhabitants of the town were stone-cutters ar master masons.
In 1682, Neuville-based master mason Jean Loriot was hired for the summer season by Claude Baillif, architect and builder in Quebec, In 1683, he contributed to the buildong of Louis Jolliet's house, and, in 1684, to the increase of the Quebec cathedral. Five generations of Loriot worked as master masons; they built very nice stone houses, still standing in Neuville.
In 1791, master mason Jean Aide Créquy erected a church in Saint-Augustin, Anse à Maheu. In 1770, another member of this family erected the church of L'Islet.
In 1838, master mason Olivier Larue erected the church of Deschambault.
In 1839, Narcisse Larue erected, under the guidance of Thomas Baillargé, the church of Saint-Pierre-les-Becquets.
In 1745, Joseph Grenier, Pierre Grenier and Ignace Gréquy supplied stones from the Neuville squarries to built the gates and the sentry boxes of Quebec town walls. From 1823 to 1840, Neuville stone was also used for some parts of Quebec's new town wall. The Neuville masons were hired to build Subec walls.
Neuville sonte was also used to build Estèbe House, today the Civilization Museum.

Several inhabitants of Neuville and Pointe-aux-Trembles came from Normandy, Poitou, Aunis and Saintonge. They were famrers but also craftsmen, most commonly carpenters. Early dwellings were very modest but rural architecture progressed with generations and carpenters became significant craftsmen. Carpenters from the Auger, Béland, Delisle, Gingras, Grenier, Vézina, Aide-Créquy, Tapin, Soulard, Plamondon, Langlois, Rochette and other families worked in Neuville and Greater Quebec.

Maize was grown by the natives before the French colonization. The new colonists adopted it since it was a very profitable crop. A document certified in1667 by notary Becquet states that maize was grown at the time on the domain owned by lord Bourdon.
Engineer Gédéon de Catalogne, in the survey of the domains of Nouvell-France ordered by the king of France, reports that in Neuville, "plots are composed of mounds and slopes; however, because the inhabitants are very laborious, they produce profusely all kinds of grain".
Neville being close to the ton of Quebec, market gardening thrived to supply Suebec markets.
Neuville's maize is still recognized in Greater Quebec for its upper quality. Dairy industry is also very important in Neuville.

Some 80 ships were built from 1835 to 1870 in Neuville. The most important shipyard was operated from 1840 to 1870 by Hyppolithe Dubord; some 60 three masters were produced, from 300 to 1,500 ton in burden and 150 to 210 feet in length. They were sold to England and Scotland and sailed over the seven seas.
The Neuville shipwrights were Olivier Chartier, Antoine Saint-Jean, James Gaudie, Édouard Desnoyers and Jos Angers dit Stéguy. Among the Neuville workers were Jos Alain, Jacques Alain, Pierre Angers, François Auger, M. Côté, Z. Chateauvert, Édouard Dolbec, Narciss Doré, Louis Laperrière, Joseph Laperrière, Élie Lefebvre, Michel Leveillée, Xavier Leveillée, Jos Matte, Jospeh Morissette, Narcisse Parent, N. Rochette, Lazar Soulard, François Vézina and Élisée Vézina.
From 1855 to 1860, Jos Angers and brothers Laroche from Cap-Santé built eight ships at the Laroche shipyard, also located in Neuville. From 1855 to 1860, Antoine Saint-Jean owned a small shipyard close to the church. Finally, from 1870 to 1875, Jos Angers launched a few boats in partnership with François Bertrand, owner of shipyard in the village.

http://www.ville.neuville.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/Signification-des-ARMOIRIES.pdf
Y. Raymond, M. Rouleau, L. Godbout, L. Gosselin. Armoiries de la ville de Neuville (undated)

Ivan Sache, 14 March 2021

Description of the flag

The flag is white with the shield centred. The shield is described in French at http://www.ville.neuville.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/Signification-des-ARMOIRIES.pdf:

Azure, a chevron Argent accompanied to dexter by three ears of corn, one in pale, two in saltire and in sinister of a hammer in pale, a gouge and a wood chisel in saltire; in point of a three-masted ship, all in gold."

The motto of the city of Neuville is: Proud of the past, faith in the future.
Masao Okazaki, 28 February 2021

Logo flag

image by Masao Okazaki, 28 February 2021

A 2000 photo of a flag was recently posted by Luc Vartan Baronian in the FOTW Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/flagsoftheworld/permalink/4356460354368653

Translated from http://www.ville.neuville.qc.ca/tourisme-et-patrimoine/portrait-de-la-municipalite/armoiries-et-logo/

Neuville has an image that gives it wings, the wings of a kite. It symbolizes, by its rise, the increase in its population and the constant progress of the City. It goes without saying that the kite also refers to the recreational aspects of Neuville.
The logo also represents Neuville's journey through its three centuries of existence. Through this logo, we feel the wind drawing an “N” in its sails.
Its colour indicates the interest that the people of Neuville have in the natural environments that surround them. The signature has the effect of softening the great vividness of the logo. Everything therefore gives all the life and seriousness that the City of Neuville projects.
"The wind in the sails" is the slogan of the City of Neuville. What could be better than this famous proverb to express in words the image of the City? It refers as much to nature as to the development of Neuville. When you think of this phrase, a feeling of joy and freedom crosses your mind.

Masao Okazaki, 28 February 2021

The logo is still being used. Apparently, it's not a bat! Here is a page explaining the logo and the coat of arms:
http://www.ville.neuville.qc.ca/tourisme-et-patrimoine/portrait-de-la-municipalite/armoiries-et-logo/
The municipality of Neuville (4,392 inhabitants in 2016; 7,170 ha) is located 20 km south-west of Quebec.
Ivan Sache, 14 March 2021