History/Archeo-Walk

St-HENRI-DES-TANNERIES

Changing Spaces

Introduction

This tour will visit the buildings and spaces of

the present day town of St-Henri but images

of the past will creep in along the way.

Walking through the town it will be easy to

absorb what life was like to live here. St-

Henri often gets viewed as a rough poor

neighbourhood but it perhaps might be

viewed with a rich history.

Starting point of History/Archeo-

Tour

Meeting point is at the Lionel Groulx Metro

On the corner of St-Jacques and Atwater

Continue west on St-Jacques until you reach

Rosa-de-Lima

This will be our first stop

C&W Williams Manufacturing

Company (first stop)

Occupied by Garda

Security on Rosa-de-

Lima and St-Jacques

Northwest corner

where we are standing

http://www2.bnquebec.ca/massic/MW3904.htm

Couples walking on Rosa-de-Lima where we are standing

with the Grand Trunk Running along in front of them

C&W Williams Manufacturing

Co. Produced sewing machines and was one of many

factories which opened up during the industrial

period and branching off from the Lachine Canal

Established in 1863 on St-James Street

It is now used for the offices of Garda Security

and owned by Imperial Tobacco

The 100 year + building has maintained its

outward appearance

The Grand Trunk Railroad has long gone but there

are traces of its past in St-Henri.

House on Rose-de-Lima.

1890 Historical Society of Saint-Henri

Rosa-de-Lima House

Off St-Jacques turn left onto Rosa-de-Lima on your right there are townhouses

There are no traces of the Rosa-de-Lima house however there are townhouses on your right which have replaced it. Families lived in close proximity to the factories in St-Henri.

Just on your left coming up is the newly renovated Candy factory transformed into McGill student residences Pavillon Solin Hall

Across from here turn left onto the bicycle path and continue along here

The Grand Trunk Railway is replaced by a bicycle

Footpath

THE GRAND TRUNK

RAILWAY Formed in 1853 from an amalgamation of railway

lines which ran through St-Henri.

(www.collectionscanada.qc.ca) There is also a

park named Premiere Chemin-de-fer off of Notre

Dame Street.

Old railway is now a path being walked as part of

the tour leading to CLSC (Notre-Dame Street and

Workman) The spot where the St-Henri Station

stood.

A two lane train tunnel ran under Notre Dame

Street andstill remain archaeological remains of

the Grand Trunk Railway.

Grant Trunk Railway tunnel under Notre Dame

Street

Train Station

Would have been

To the right of

This photo.

Photo by MC

Approach Notre Dame Street and head east

until rue St-Augustin and turn right heading

south towards the Lachine Canal

One of the samll houses

on St-Agustin which is

approximately 120

years old. (source: the

owner was outside and

mentioned that his and

this one are the same

age)

Another small Quebecois home:

This particular house

was owned by a priest

in the late 19th century.

Just a two minute walk

from the canal and the

Moseley Ricker

Tannery.Which is now

a park

Continuing down to the Canal where the Moseley

&Ricker Tannery is but what is it now

Just an open space but where the town begins to reveal its start and this park pays homage to those in the tannery trade which first established the small village which was called St-Henri-des-Tanneries.

E. Frank Moseley and Company Tannery (St-Henri)

St-Ambroise Street and St-Augustin

Canada, Archival reference no. R6990-873-X-E.

A little bit of background on the

tanneries..

They eventually settle in St-Henri-

des-Tanneries

TANNERIES (ST. JACQUES + UNIVERSITCanada

Canada. Dept. of Mines and Resources / Library and Archives Canada / PA-020599

Rue St-Jacques/Rue University

Tannery

Established in the17th century at the trading post

where the rivers St-Martin and St-Pierre crossed

Raw hides of cows, bulls etc brought to trading

post and then to tanneries to make leather goods

(ie: shoes and saddles)

Smells became too much for the village and moved

outside the walls of Ville Marie to St-Henri-des-

Tanneries

Source: rivieresperdu.radio-canada.ca

Continue walking west along St-

Ambroise street observing all of the

several factories which lined the

road and bordered St-Henri to the

south. When reaching rue

Courcelles, make a right and

continue until you get to the corner

of Notre Dame and Courcelles.

Caserne numro 24/Fire Station #24

1901/2013

Corner of Notre Dame and Courcelles(now a public library)

Continue on Notre Dame and

cross over the railroad tracks just

ahead of Acorn Street.This is the approximate area where

the Rolland Tanneries were

established

St-Jacques between Courcelles and St-Remi.1949 (before the Turcot Interchange)

Source: Montreal Neighborhoods Website

Satelite image of samea area today

Lenoir dite Rolland Gabriel Rolland became a master tanner in 1713

beginning his trade at Ville Marie

The Ville Marie tanneries moved westward to where the St-Pierre River meets the Glen Creek and where Gabriel Rolland operated several tanneries in the village (mid-1700s)

This was an ideal area as historically aboriginals and Les Coureurs de Bois crossed through this area to bypass rapids. This village became known as St-Henri-des-Tanneries

(Heritage Montreal website)

The First Tanners

McCord Museum, MP-0000.1671.6.

THE ROLLAND FAMILY TANNERS

Photograph, Tanneries Village, St. Henry, near Montreal, QC,

1859, Alexander Henderson, Silver salts on paper mounted on paper

Rolland Tanners

These houses dated in the middle of the 19th

century made up the Village of Tanners at the

foot of the Glen. The Glen was the point where

the St-Jacques cliffs meet at the Glen (Glen

Road) joining St-Henri to Westmount. Made up

of approximately 11 houses these Tanners began

the St-Henri Town that exists today.

(Heritage Montreal)

www.messagerverdun.com

*Approximate

Area of Villages des

Tanneries

Otter Lake (now the old Turcot Yards)

-meets the St-Pierre River

Picture from site: RadioCanada.ca (Lost Rivers)

*

Old map of Les Rolland

Tanneries

Situated on the previous map where the St-

Pierre River and the Moulin is situated

Where you are standing now was the village

of Les Rolland Tanneries

This development led to the foundation of

St-Henri des Tanneries.

This unfinished picture represents a view ofMontreal & the Tanneries from the "LaChine

Road" - dated 1839from National Archives of Canada

Upper Lachine Road/Les Falaise

St-Jacques

The previous slide depicts what the Village

of St-Henri-des-Tanneries looked like in the

early 1800s

The Falaise are the cliffs that are seen which

now is St-Jacques Road leading to Upper-

Lachine Road.

Our second last stop will take us

north on Courcelles/Glen Rd The view from the bank,

where this photo was taken will give you an idea of where the creek would have stream down to where the tanners village was. This water supply was key to the establishment of the Tannery Village.The St-Jacques Cliffs are off to the right of this photo.

Climbing back down the bank,

back through the Glen Tunnel

back into St-Henri-des-Tanneries

The Final Stop.

There is a sewer in the middle of the street just in front of the arch (of the tunnel) Where you can still hear the rushing waters of the Glen and this is where it all began for St-Henri des-Tanneries.