Ahuntsic

Ahuntsic-Cartierville · 101 photographs · 1947–1978

Three mills were working at the Sault-au-Récollet rapids by 1728. A dyke had been built between Île de la Visitation and Montréal. Serving the surrounding farms, the mills made the riverside agricultural village a place of production and services. The church inaugurated in 1751, and later enlarged, replaced the chapel at Fort Lorette. At Maison du Pressoir, old apple presses and everyday objects recall cider making and life in the village. Île-de-la-Visitation nature park opened in 1983, and the former village received municipal heritage status in 1992.

On Boulevard Crémazie Est, Collège André-Grasset provides private college education. It exhibited works by Ozias Leduc and Paul-Émile Borduas in “Apprendre pour demain”, a temporary exhibition exploring the college’s history. Parc Ahuntsic brings an arena, baseball ground, skatepark, wading pool and winter sledding hill into the neighbourhood’s recreational landscape. Keeping that land available for recreation also required a political fight: councillor Pierre E. Lachapelle and a residents’ coalition opposed a development proposal that threatened part of the park.