Pointe Saint-Charles

On Sébastopol Street, the Grand Trunk built row housing for workers employed on the Victoria Bridge and in its railway shops. Houses in the Point stood close to the pavement, with carriage entrances leading through to rear yards. The former Redpath and Northern Electric factories near Saint-Gabriel Lock belong to the neighbourhood’s industrial landscape. Maison Saint-Gabriel preserves an earlier farming history: Marguerite Bourgeoys bought a farmhouse and neighbouring land in 1668, and the establishment welcomed women arriving as Filles du Roy. Catherine Crolo managed land clearing, cultivation and the harvests.

After fire devastated the house in 1693, its foundations and dairy were incorporated into the rebuilding of 1698. A museum devoted to New France opened there in 1966. The nearby canal, completed in 1825, closed to navigation in 1970 and reopened to recreational boats in 2002. Industrial closures prompted residents, with women at the forefront, to establish organizations addressing food, housing, health and legal rights. Local organizing also created the community clinic that became a model for Québec’s CLSC network.

Key places

• Sébastopol Street : housing built by the Grand Trunk for its workers.
• Maison Saint-Gabriel : former farm converted into a museum.
• Saint-Gabriel Lock : beside the former Redpath and Northern Electric factories.
• Community clinic : institution created through local organizing.