Amable Morin, a real trailblazer

Merchants on the Côte-du-Sud followed the example of Amable Morin (1793-1877), who was born and lived in Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies. It’ s important to talk about this man, who was the son of a farmer and became a notary at the age of 21. He also worked as a general merchant. Amable Morin married Marie-Reine Gauvreau of Quebec in 1817. They had no children.

In 1830, Morin built his large house and began to plant a large orchard, which would take more than a year to complete. It’s perhaps the oldest known commercial orchard in the region.

Amable Morin had several cards up his sleeve: he knew agriculture and had confidence in science. He grew at least a dozen different types of apples, two types of plums and, of course, cherries. Apples that kept well were put in barrels and stored in a huge shed in front of the house near the river. They were then loaded onto schooners at the wharf in Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies for delivery to the city. The rest of the harvested fruit was sold more quickly. 

 
However, this was not the end of the story. Alain Pelletier, who lived in the house until the early 2000s, recreated a small heritage orchard with trees of the same varieties that Amable Morin grew; for example, the Snow, or Fameuse, apple, the Calville and the Germain Saint-Pierre.