Canada’s first permanent agricultural school

Father François Pilote (1811-1886) was a teacher and farmer at heart when he entered the Collège de Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière in 1836. The college already had a farm to feed its staff and students, but the priest turned it into a model farm in 1854. Experiments, including the use of innovative farming techniques, were carried out at the college. The results were passed on to regional farmers. Father Pilote maintained business ties and friendships with the people you’ve heard about in this exhibition and who lent him a helping hand: Amable Morin, Auguste Dupuis, Jean-Charles Chapais, père and fils.

François Pilote still had a major project in mind: the creation of a real agricultural school. Thanks to the founding and support of the Société d’agriculture du Kamouraska, Pilote obtained the funds and the authorisation needed to establish his school. He had it built not far from the college and its model farm. The school was inaugurated on October 10, 1859. Students attended it until 1911. The following year, a new building opened its doors.