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

 

Narcisse-Valois House

House of Narcisse Valois and Marie-Josephte Hainault-Deschamps. © Bernard Bourbonnais – Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.
House of Narcisse Valois and Marie-Josephte Hainault-Deschamps. © Bernard Bourbonnais - Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.
Details of the front door’s paneling and transom. © Bernard Bourbonnais - Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.
6 Saint-Michel Street in 1982. © Groupe Harcart.
6 Saint-Michel Street and its garage (added to the house probably in the 1970s). © Groupe Harcart, 1982.
Detailed plan of the Saint-Michel de Vaudreuil Village (1850) and the Narcisse Valois House (in red). © Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, William Teasdale. Plan of the Village of Vaudreuil. February 23, 1850, E21,S555,SS1,SSS23,PC.3.
The lands of Narcisse Valois (in gray) on Quinchien Hill. Detail of the map of H.S. Sitwell and W.F. Drummond, Contoured plan of Vaudreuil, Canada East, surveyed in 1865-1866, 1867. Document modified by Isabelle Aubuchon. © Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Collection numérique/Cartes et plans.
Another example of a Lower Canada house with cut stone facade (425 Saint-Charles Avenue). © Bernard Bourbonnais - Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.
One of the bells from the steeple of the Saint-Michel de Vaudreuil Church, donated by Narcisse Valois (son) in 1871. The bells were crafted by the London company Mears & Stainbank. © Bernard Bourbonnais - Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2009.
Tree-planting ceremony on the land of the Sisters of Saint Anne’s first convent, which was attended by Henry de Lotbinière Harwood, 1973. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Henry de Lotbinière Harwood Fund, P6-J8.

place OLD VAUDREUIL AND FORMER SAINT-MICHEL DE VAUDREUIL VILLAGE

Current name Habitations Raymond Allard inc.

Original vocation Private residence

Address 6 Saint-Michel Street, Vaudreuil-Dorion

Construction date 1849-1850

Architect, Firm or Contractor Télesphore Guilbault, master mason

Architectural type Lower Canada rural house (1825-1870)

Status Private property

A HOME IN THE HEART OF THE VILLAGE

Located in the heart of Old Vaudreuil1 on Saint-Michel Street, this house was built in 1849-1850 for Narcisse Valois (1786-1859) and his second wife Marie-Josephte Hainault-Deschamps. Its architectural features are characteristic of private residences of Vaudreuil dignitaries. A prosperous farmer, Narcisse Valois was mayor of the Saint-Michel de Vaudreuil Village from 1855 to 1859. The masonry work of this stunning stone house was entrusted in October of 1849 to Télesphore Guilbault, a resident of the Sainte-Geneviève Parish (Montréal)2. The building remained in the Valois family until it was sold in 1889.

Test your knowledge

Which french female author was born at the 6 Saint-Michel Street?

Before 6 Saint-Michel Street in 1982. © Groupe Harcart.

After House of Narcisse Valois and Marie-Josephte Hainault-Deschamps. © Bernard Bourbonnais - Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.

People

Narcisse Valois (1786-1859)

As a prosperous farmer and influential man, Narcisse Valois (1786-1859) played an important role in Vaudreuil's history because of his political activities, particularly through his role in the rebellions of 1837.

Léonise Valois (1868-1936)

Léonise Valois (1868-1936) was a journalist and poet who was the first woman in Québec to publish a poetry collection titled Fleurs sauvages in 1910. Her poems were inspired by her childhood memories and the Vaudreuil and Dorion landscape.

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. Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, microfilms, m. not., François-Hyacinthe Prévost, October 26, 1849. Masonry contract between Télesphore Guilbault, master mason from Sainte-Geneviève [Montréal], and Narcisse Valois, esquire of Vaudreuil.