If buildings could speak… - A historical and architectural tour of Vaudreuil-Dorion

 

Joachim-Génus House (formerly Valois House)

Joachim-Génus House. © Bernard Bourbonnais – Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.
Joachim-Génus House. In the foreground, the monument commemorating the centennial of the City of Dorion. (Place du centenaire). © Bernard Bourbonnais – Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.
Detail on land registry of the seigneury of Vaudreuil (1853) indicating the land occupied by Joachim Génus (in color). Document modified by Isabelle Aubuchon. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges. Drawn of the seigneury of Vaudreuil. John Nolph, March 10, 1853.
First known photograph of the Joachim-Génus House taken in 1925 by Edgar Gariépy. It is found in the 1927 works of Pierre-Georges Roy. Vieux manoirs, vieilles maisons, published by the Commission des Monuments historiques de la Province de Québec. ©  Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, P600,S6,D5,P927.
331 Saint-Charles Avenue, when owned by the Brunet family, around 1940. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Archives photographies de la Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion, A-009.
The Joachim-Génus House, when owned by the Brunet family, around 1950. The summer kitchen can be seen on the the building’s right hand side. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Archives photographies de la Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion, A-009.
Plan for the restoration of the Valois House (Joachim-Génus House) provided by the architects of the ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec, May 3, 1972. © Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion, Services techniques, 10-2-1 f3 de 12.
Workers during the restoration of the Joachim-Génus House in 1972. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Archives photographies de la Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion, A-009-114.
Restoration of the Joachim-Génus House almost completed, 1972. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Archives photographies de la Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion, A-009-149.
Plan of the restoration of the Joachim-Génus House drawn by the Beaupré & Michaud Firm, architects, in 2005-2006. © Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion, Services techniques, 10-131-2 FA200.
Joachim-Génus House during the floods of spring 2017. Photograph taken as part of the contest Zoom sur ma ville. © Lilly Bourbonnais – Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges.

place VAUDREUIL BAY AND CITÉ-DES-JEUNES CAMPUS

Current name Joachim-Génus House (formerly Valois House)

Original vocation Private residence

Address 331 Saint-Charles Avenue, Vaudreuil-Dorion

Construction date 1796

Architect, Firm or Contractor Unknown builders and artisans

Architectural type Insulated building dating back to the French Regime - 18th century (1725-1825)

Status Institutional property (City of Vaudreuil-Dorion); heritage building classified by the Government of Québec on June 28, 1972; protected area as defined by the Government of Québec on May 20, 1975.

THE HOME OF JOACHIM GENUS, MILITIA CAPTAIN AND FARMER

Located on the shores of Vaudreuil Bay1(Ottawa River), this ancestral home was built in 1796 for Joachim Genus (1734-1813) and his second wife Véronique Ranger (1739-1827)2. It is one of the most emblematic of Vaudreuil-Dorion’s heritage buildings. Born in the seigneury of Soulanges, Joachim Genus bought his first land in the seigneury of Vaudreuil in 17553, and will be followed by many other purchases, including lot number 38 in 17734. Situated on the Vaudreuil Bay, this lot is where he had his house built 23 years later (1796) and is now known as the Joachim-Génus house. He was then 61 years old. Joachim Génus was a prosperous farmer and quickly became an influential figure in Vaudreuil by holding several public positions, including that of militia captain5. Following his death, a series of transactions from 1830 to 1838 were carried out by his heirs, resulting in the sale of the house and lot number 38 to Joseph Valois6. In 1931, the Brunet family succeeded to the Valois family and became owner of the building7. The City of Dorion later acquired (1970) and restored (1972) the house. A public park (Maison-Valois Park) was built on the grounds adjacent to the property8.

Test your knowledge

What important person with regards to the history of Vaudreuil under the seigneurial regime can be considered a friend of Joachim Génus?

Before Joachim-Génus House in 1925. © Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, P600,S6,D5,P927.

After Joachim-Génus House. © Bernard Bourbonnais – Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.

References

  1. To facilitate reading and to respect Vaudreuil-Dorion’s historical development, the text in this heritage tour uses the names of Vaudreuil or Dorion for events prior to 1994, year in which the cities merged.

    Also, when citing this heritage tour, please do so as follows: Sébastien Daviau, Jean-Luc Brazeau, and Édith Prégent. If buildings could speak. A historical and architectural tour of Vaudreuil-Dorion. Vaudreuil-Dorion, City of Vaudreuil-Dorion / Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017, <https://www.circuitvd.ca>, accessed [insert date].

  2. Maison Joachim-Génus files. Consulted November 30, 2017 on the Répertoire culturel du Québec website, <http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca>.

  3. Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, microfilms, m. not., Thomas Vuatier, January 20, 1755. Sale by Pierre-Hubert Ranger de Vaudreuil to Joachim Génus, absent, comparing by Antoine Sauvé dit Laplante, of a piece of land located in the seigneury of Vaudreuil, concession from Les Cèdres (lot no 25) of 3 by 20 French acres and its house.

  4. Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, microfilms, m. not., Thomas Vuatier, February 16, 1773. Cession by Jean-Baptiste Robidou, a traveller residing in the suburb of St-Joseph de Montréal, and Madeleine Maurice, his wife, to Joachim Génus, resident of Vaudreuil.

  5. On this subject, see the text on Joachim Génus in the People tab (coming soon).

  6. Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, microfilms, m. not., Joseph-Octave Bastien, father, December 15, 1830. Sale of real estate rights by the sons of Joachim Génus, son, and Françoise Lalonde (François Génus and Joachim Génus) to Joseph Valois; m. not., Joseph-Octave Bastien, father, December 16, 1830. Offers and protest for lineage withdrawal by Antoine Lalonde and his wife [Véronique Génus] to Joseph Valois; m. not., Joseph-Amable Charlebois, December 21, 1830. Sale of successive rights by François and Antoine Lalonde, farmers of Nouvelle-Longueuil, to Joseph Valois; m. not., Joseph-Octave Bastien, father, June 16, 1831. Sale of successive rights by Jean-Baptiste Boileau (husband of Marie-Anne Émond, daughter of Jean-Baptiste Émond, and Marie-Anne Génus, deceased in 1817) to Joseph Valois; m. not., Antoine-Alexis Dubois, June 23, 1834, Donation of successive rights by Paul Vassor and Marie-Anne Lalonde to François Vassor (Marie-Anne Lalonde is the daughter of François Lalonde and Marie-Amable Génus); m. not., Antoine-Alexis Dubois, June 8, 1834. Sale of successive rights by François Vassor to Joseph Valois; m. not., Hyacinthe-Fabien Charlebois, January 12, 1835, protest against Joseph Valois by Antoine Lalonde; m. not., Stephen McKay, April 25, 1838. Sale of successive rights by Martine Émond (daughter of Marie-Anne Génus) to Joseph Valois.

  7. Bureau de la publicité des droits de la circonscription foncière de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Registre, 49388 RB, m. not. not., Louis-Joseph Boileau, August 14, 1931 (registered August 18, 1931). Sale by Joseph Valois, employee of the tramways of the City of Montréal, to Patrick Brunet, grocery store owner of the same place.

  8. Bureau de la publicité des droits de la circonscription foncière de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Registre, 115927 RB, m. not. not., Jean-Baptiste Lamarre, March 13, 1970 (registered March 21, 1970). Sale by Pauline Brunet of Montréal and Jeanne Brunet, wife of Irénée Lemieux, of the same place to the Corporation municipale de la Ville de Dorion and Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion, archives, Dossiers de la restauration de la maison Valois (maison Joachim-Génus).