Watermill of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville

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The Vieux-Moulin

The Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville watermill is a stone structure from 1761 in the Canadian province of Québec , which was built on Mont Saint-Bruno between Lac du Moulin and Lac Seigneurial. It is the only structure of its kind that dates back to the French colonial times and it is the oldest watermill for processing grain in the municipality of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville . It originated in the area of ​​the Seigneurie de Montarville . There it is known as the Vieux-Moulin (old mill). A mill had previously been built in 1725, but it no longer exists.

In 1710, Philippe de Rigaud de Vaudreuil , the governor of New France , transferred the newly created seigneury to Pierre Boucher de Boucherville. But in 1723 the new lords had not yet cleared any land and had not appointed settlers, as the feudal lord had died in 1718. After the aforementioned watermill was built in 1725, three more mills were built in 1741, 1761 and 1799. In 1742 a tannery was added, in 1746 the first lands were given to colonists as part of the French feudal system, and in 1758 a windmill was built. In the 19th century, the Seigneurie, which was abolished in 1854, had six mills that served various purposes, such as sawing, tanning and weaving.

In 1933 the place had 1,150 inhabitants, but the number of inhabitants rose again to 6,500 by 1961, in 1979 it was already 22,500.

Facade of the mill after the restoration, around 1980

The watermill was restored in the 1970s, but without the grinder and wheel. In 1981 the Société d'histoire de Montarville was founded , which deals with the history of the region. The mill became one of the main attractions of the Parc national du Mont-Saint-Bruno . Coffee and tea have been offered there since 2012 in a salon de thé , as well as local specialties. The mill is owned by the Société des établissements de plein-air du Québec (SÉPAQ).

literature

  • Charlotte Leclerc Bonenfant, Société d'histoire de Montarville (ed.): Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Fragments d'histoire , Montarville 1992 (86 pp.)
  • Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville. Portrait du patrimoine culturel et identitaire , Saint-Bruno, undated ( online , PDF)

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Inauguration du salon de thé Le Vieux Moulin au parc national du Mont-Saint-Bruno , Sépaq, January 31, 2012.

Coordinates: 45 ° 32 ′ 35.4 "  N , 73 ° 19 ′ 26.8"  W.