22 ‘Historical Guidebook of the Evangeline Region

Abram’s Village Corner, circa 1900. The first building on the left is Joseph-Octave Arsenault’s general store, built in the 1860s. The large house across the road belonged to Sylvain E. Gallant who was the manager of the store before becoming the owner in 1898. The well-known singer and songwriter, Angele Arsenault, grew up in this house. (Héléne Cheverie Collection)

There are eight districts or villages in the parish of Egmont Bay.

Abram-Village (Abram’s Village)

Ever since it was first founded, this village has gone by various names: Village des Abrams, Abram’s Village, Abraham’s Village and Saint-Abraham. The name obviously stems from the fact that the village was founded by the descendants of Petit Abraham Arsenault (see p. 8) — in other words, his own son Jean-Baptiste and his children and their families. They were known as the Abrams, hence the name Village des Abrams.

Egmont Bay

The parish church of Saint-Philippe and Saint-Jacques is located in the little community of Egmont Bay. For a long time the area was called Saint-Jacques, the patron saint of Jacques Bernard, one of the pioneers. The stream flowing through the community goes by the name Jacques River.

Maximeville

This little community, often called Petit-Cap, was named after Maxime Arsenault (c. 1804-1868) who received the deed to his land in 1828. He was the son of Abraham Arsenault from Abram’s Village. The appearance of the name Maximeville coincides with the opening of the post office in 1904. The Haldimand River forms the natural border between this area and Abram’s Village.