'Rigaud' is a municipality in southwestern
Quebec,
Canada in the county of
Vaudreuil-Soulanges at the junction of the
Ottawa River (Riviere des Ouatouais) and the
Rigaud River. It is the farthest western suburb of Montreal. The commuter train to downtown Montreal starts at the Rigaud station.
Its main attraction is Mont-Rigaud, a small mountain with downhill ski runs, a private school (Collège Bourget), a
monastery, and a shrine dedicated to the
Virgin Mary (Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes). The mountain is also home to an unusual, natural rock garden known as the "champs de patates", so named because of the local legend that it was once a potato field, turned to stone by God because the farmer worked on Sunday. On the opposite side of the mountain is a residential community known as "Mountain Ranches." The middle to upper-middle class community features large, mostly secluded building lots in a wooded setting that draws residents because of its isolated tranquility and privacy. As such, it was the hiding place for fugitive
Charlie Wilson, one of the leaders of the notorious 1963
Great train robbery in
England. This area was also known for its "tree farms" in the 1960's and 1970's, providing a tax shelter for the well off, until the tax laws were later changed to require harvesting of those "tree farms". The "Pitcairn Tree Farm", was one such example.
Also located in Rigaud is a training center for the
Canada Border Services Agency.
The town was named after
Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal, the last governor of
New France.
The communities of Dragon and Rigaud are found in the municipality.
References
★
Town of Rigaud official site (in French)
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