Likeness of Felix in the bust at the corner of Main St and South Street, Southbridge, by Lucien Gosselin
Félix Gatineau (November 12, 1857 – December 21, 1927) was a French-Canadian statesman and historian in his adopted hometown of Southbridge, Massachusetts. He was born in Sainte-Victoire-de-Sorel, Quebec, an area halfway between Montreal and Quebec City. Gatineau arrived in Southbridge in 1877. Among his many deeds, he was a state representative in Massachusetts in 1906, 1920–21, and 1927, and led several French-Canadian societies. His written works include L'Histoire des Franco-Américains de Southbridge and L'Historique des Conventions Générales des Canadiens-Français aux Etats-Unis.
A statue was erected in his honor and dedicated on September 1, 1927, at a fork in a main road in Southbridge by the Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d’Amérique, as he was one of the society's founders.[1] The Gatineau bust is a local landmark, and often serves as a wayfinder, with locals directing people "Félix to the left" or "Félix to the right."
^"Ready to Dedicate Gatineau Shaft at Southbridge Today". The Boston Globe. Boston. September 2, 1929. p. 5. The memorial erected to State. Representative Felix Gatineau of Southbrldge, founder of LUnion St John the Baptist in America, the largest French Catholic fraternal organization in the United States, will be dedicated tomorrow. Labor Day, and a parade in which 3000 persons will participate, will be a feature. ' Mr Gatineau served as president general of the order from 1902 to 1911 and was a member of the national executive committee from 1908 until the time of his death in 1927. The monument stands at the intersection of Main and South sts, the town voting a small triangular plot for this purpose. Funds were raised among members of the order throughout the country. Jean Gosselin of Manchester, N H, Is the sculptor. The monument has an eight-foot marble base on which is mounted a bust of Mr Gatineau. He was the first French-speaking citizen to be elected to office in Southbrldge, being a Selectman many years and he also served on the library committee and the overseers of the poor. A Paris newspaper, in an article published at the time of his death, gave Mr Gatineau credit for being the outstanding citizen in the United States to advance the cause of the French in this country. He served in the Massachusetts Legislature in 1905, 1906, 1924, 1925, 1926 and 1927 when he died.
