Île de la Visitation is a small island in the

Rivière des Prairies The Rivière des Prairies (; ), called the Back River in English, is a delta channel of the Ottawa River in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The Kanien'kehá:ka called it ''Skowanoti'', meaning "River behind the island". The river separates the citi ...

, part of the

Hochelaga Archipelago The Hochelaga Archipelago (), also known as the Montreal Islands, is a group of islands at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa rivers in the southwestern part of the province of Quebec, Canada. Population On 1 July 2021, the Ho ...

, and part of the city of

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 ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Located within the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

s of Ahuntsic-Cartierville and

Montréal-Nord Montreal North (french: Montréal-Nord) is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city of Montréal-Nord on Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. It was amalgamated into t ...

, the island is the site of the L'Île-de-la-Visitation Nature Park, as well as the remaining buildings of the historic

Sault-au-Récollet Sault-au-Récollet (English: Recollet Rapids) is a neighbourhood in Montreal. It is located in the eastern edge of the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, bordering the Rivière des Prairies. Autoroute 19 connects Sault-au-Récollet to Laval. T ...

district. The island also includes the former hydraulic installations, l'île du Cheval-de-Terre, which is connected to Laval by the Rivière des Prairies generating station, as well as a wooded area left intact along the Rivière des Prairies.

History

Known as Branchereau Island until 1750, Île de la Visitation borrows its name from the parish of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin-Mary which was founded in 1736. In order to control the force of the current, the

Sulpician The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris ...

landlords connected the island to the shore by a causeway. Between 1724 and 1726, Simon Sicar, engineer, built the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

and a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

near the island. He built a stone

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

to grind corn, another for carding wool. In 1785, the island was surveyed and subdivided.Gordon Lefebbre, ''Montréal-Nord, d'hier à aujourd'hui'', Comité d'histoire de Montréal-Nord, 2000, p. 10

Mills

Over time, the mills have had several owners. *1726-1837: Séminaire de Montréal *1837-1867: Pascal Persillier-Lachapelle & Succession *1867-1872: Basile Piché *1872-1878: M. Ouimet *1878-1883: Wail McGauvran & Tucken *1883-1890: R. Gagnon père et fils *1890-1906: Dominion Leather Board Company *1906-1950: Back River Power Co *1950-1980: Milmont Fibreboards Co There have been a few kinds of mills over the years. *1833-1879: Nail mill *1873-1890:

Sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

and paper mill *1890-1977: Paper mill

Maison du Pressoir

The Maison du Pressoir was built in 1806 by Didier Joubert who used it to press

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

s into cider. It then became a house. The remains of the stone foundation which served as base for the machine still exist.

References

External links

montreal.com article

History

Mills

Maison du Pressoir

References

External links

See also