Buildings & Structures Archives | The rivers of Prairies and Mille Iles: regional development

An Outing on the River

Boat-building technology developed extensively in the 20th century. Pleasure boaters no longer had to row to enjoy the water—they just had to start their outboard motors! With this […]

Summer Camp

Groups of small cottages and summer houses for rent were built on the island. They were rented by holidaymakers who could not afford to buy their own property. […]

Captains, to Your Boats!

The golden age of luxury mahogany boats was between 1945 and 1960. Sixteen boat parades were organized by the Club nautique des Mille-Îles. They always ended with a […]

An Island, a Manor!

Hugh Paton bought Île Bourdeau in 1880 for $2,800. He carried out most of the development work in 1884 with his wife, Isabella Robertson. The 50-room manor was […]

Mrs. Brault and her Dog

In the 19th century, the district known as Parc-Laval was largely rural. After the railway bridge between Bordeaux and Île Jésus was built in 1876, wealthy residents were […]

Luxury Means Being Able to Moor Your Boat in Your Own Yard!

The turn of the 20th century was a key period for the western point of Île Jésus. Promoters got together and created the Compagnie des terrains de Laval. […]

The Shoreline of Sainte-Rose Ouest

In the late 19th century, swimming was not fashionable. Holidaymakers chose the banks of Île Jésus to enjoy the shade of the trees. The fresh air from the […]

Now, That’s What You Call Solid!

In 1849, the Bellefeuille family gave residents of Île Jésus and Saint-Eustache a new option to get from one shore to the other. Instead of the old ferry, […]

Slowly, Please!

After the Porteous Bridge was destroyed, a new wooden bridge was built in 1854. The Plessis-Bélair Bridge was named in honour of the family that came to own […]

The Great Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Dam

The construction of a generating station changed the habits of the animals in the area. One species present in the Des Prairies River is the American shad. The […]

Turgeon Mill

A few photographs of the Turgeon Mill. This one was taken from the shoreline at Saint-François. The mill was built in the 19th century across from Île Saint-Jean […]

Drawing of a Mill

The Du Crochet Mill left its mark even though few physical traces of the building remain. The archives of the Séminaire de Québec contain a lot of documentation […]