The Pioneers' Monument Obelisk is a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

Old Montreal Old Montreal (French: ''Vieux-Montréal'') is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street, on th ...

Overview

The granite obelisk commemorates the founding of

Fort Ville-Marie Fort Ville-Marie was a French fortress and settlement established in May 1642 by a company of French settlers, led by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, on the Island of Montreal in the Saint Lawrence River at the confluence of the Ottawa River, i ...

, later to become

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

close to this spot on May 17, 1642. The monument was erected by the Société historique de Montréal to celebrate the city's 250th birthday. The obelisk is made from a block of granite that stands tall and is square at its base. It took 40 horses to drag the shaft into the city in 1893. The monument was unveiled on May 17, 1894. It has been moved a number of times before it was placed in its present location in 1999. It made its debut somewhat west of its present location. In the 1940s it moved again, to the old Customs House. The monument's present location is believed to be where Montreal's first mass was held.

Plaques

Each of the four faces of the obelisk bears a plaque. The first plaque describes the founding of Montreal by

Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve Paul de Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve (15 February 1612 9 September 1676) was a French military officer and the founder of Fort Ville-Marie (modern day Montreal) in New France (Province of Quebec, Canada). Early life Maisonneuve was born in ...

on May 18, 1642. A second plaque describes the creation of the monument by the Société historique de Montréal and provides a quote from the first mass by

Barthélemy Vimont Barthélemy Vimont (January 1, 1594 – July 13, 1667) was a French Jesuit missionary in New France, North America. Biography Born at Lisieux, he entered the Society of Jesus at Rouen in 1613. After his novitiate, he studied philosophy at th ...

. A third plaque, located on the south-face, provides a list of the Founders of Montreal, including organizers and benefactors of the mission, most of whom remained in France. Prominence is given to

Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière Jerome (c.347–420) was a priest, confessor, theologian and historian from Dalmatia. Jerome may also refer to: People Given name * Jerome (given name), a masculine name of Greek origin, with a list of people so named * Saint Jerome (disambiguat ...

and Jean-Jacques Olier, founder of the Society of Saint-Sulpice. The final plaque, located on the north side of the obelisk, lists the names of the colonists who came between May and December 1642. The North plaque translates from French to:

Names of the first colonists of Montreal
1642
May–August *

* R.P. Poncet S.J. * Pierre Puiseaux de Montrenault *

Jeanne Mance Jeanne Mance (November 12, 1606 – June 18, 1673) was a French nurse and settler of New France. She arrived in New France two years after the Ursuline nuns came to Quebec. Among the founders of Montreal in 1642, she established its first hospit ...

* Catherine Barre, * Jean Corry and

Isabeau Panie ''Isabeau'' is a ''leggenda drammatica'' or opera in three parts by Pietro Mascagni, 1911, from an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. Mascagni conducted its first performance on 2 June 1911 at the Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires. A retelling of th ...

(wife of Jean Corry) * Jean Robelin * Augustin Hebert and Adrienne Du Vivier (wife of Augustin Hebert) *

Antoine Damien Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guiana ...

and

Marie Joly Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in T ...

(wife of Antoine Damien) *

Jean Caillot Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

Pierre Laimery Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

Nicolas Godé Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

and Francoise Gadois (wife of Nicolas Godé) * Francoise Godé (daughter of Nicolas Godé) *

(son of Nicolas Godé) * Mathurine Godé (daughter of Nicolas Godé) *

Marie-Madeleine de Chauvigny de la Peltrie Marie-Madeleine de Chauvigny de la Peltrie (1603 – 18 November 1671) was a French woman who started the Order of Ursulines of Quebec The Ursuline Monastery of Quebec City (french: Monastère des Ursulines de Québec) was founded by a missio ...

* And several others whose names are unknown (French: Et plusieurs autres dont les noms sont inconnus)
August–December * J.B.Le Gardeur de Repentigny * R.P.Joseph Ihbert Duperon S.J. * Louis d.Ailledoust de Coulonge and Barbe de Boullonge * Philippine de Boullonge * Gilbert Barbier * David de la Touze * Guillaume Boissier * Bernard Berte * Pierre Laforest * Cesar Leger * Jean Caron * Leonard Lucot-Barbeau * Jacques Haudebert * Jean Masse * Mathurin Serrurier * Jean-Baptiste Damiee * Jacques Boni * Jean Philippes * Pierre Didier * Pierre Questnel * Julien Pothier * N. Bellanger * Louis Gode * Jean Mattemale * Pierre Bigot * Guillaume Lebeau * Catherine Lezeau General notes about pioneers listed: Father

is not listed among the first colonists, but there is abundant evidence that he gave the first mass at Ville-Marie on May 18, 1642. Also, the name of Adrienne Du Vivier is listed with her husband. However, Du Vivier was still in France at the time of the first settlement, marrying Hebert in 1646. The couple, along with their eldest daughter, Jeanne, then sailed from France to New France with Maisonneuve in 1648. Hebert and Du Vivier's second daughter, Pauline, was the first white baby baptized in Ville-Marie. Some research also lists Nicolas Godé's eldest son, Francois (age 21 at the time), as part of this first mission but most research suggest that he remained in Quebec before travelling to Ville-Marie in the fall of 1642. The Godés have been called the "First Family of Montreal", as their children that accompanied them were all in their teens or younger at the time of the first settlement. No other children accompanied this first group.

Gallery

Image:Place D'Youville.JPG,

Place d'Youville (Montreal) The Place d'Youville in Old Montreal is a historical square in Montreal, named after Marguerite d'Youville. The roads from the Place Royale (Montreal), Place Royale and McGill Street (Montreal), McGill Street meet at this point. The square is nota ...

Image:PlYouville.jpg, Place d'Youville, looking east Image:Plyouville1.JPG, Place d'Youville looking West Image:Fondateurs Montreal.jpg, Founders of Montreal (South plaque)

Notes

FICHE D'UNE OEUVRE D'ART
Vieux-Montréal

Photographs

Pioneers Monument Obelisk about 1890
- McCord Museum {{Public art in Montreal 1894 in Canada Buildings and structures completed in 1894 History of Montreal Monuments and memorials in Montreal Obelisks in Canada Old Montreal Outdoor sculptures in Montreal 1894 establishments in Quebec

Overview

Plaques

See also

Gallery

Notes

Photographs