The General Hospital under Marguerite d’Youville
The Charon Brothers’ bankruptcy in 1747 prompts the Governor of New France to offer administration of the General Hospital and its lands to Marguerite d’Youville and her companions.
The Grey Nuns maintain all the agricultural activities and decide in 1754 to build a bakery on the premises for the needs of the community.
Land plan of Pointe à Callières in 1747/Sister Saint-Jean-de-la-Croix, s.g.m., circa 1907. Grey Nuns of Montréal’s Archives, General Administration’s Fonds, G02-A-2-08-planche 8
Plan of the General Hospital between 1771 and 1792/Sister Saint-Jean-de-la-Croix, s.g.m., circa 1907. Grey Nuns of Montréal’s Archives, General Administration’s Fonds, G02-A-2-08-planche 15
A small herd of cattle in the courtyard ensures a regular supply of milk and fresh meat.
Inventory of General Hospital’s goods (extract), 1747. Manuscript. Grey Nuns of Montréal’s Archives, Charon Brothers’ Fonds, B-1-D-3
Transcription: “Around the buildings/Item two red-haired horses aged twelve and thirteen years/Item four large swine ready to be fattened/Item four young, weaned pigs/Item eight castrated cockerels/Item twenty-four fowl and one rooster/Item one red-haired milk cow about six years/In the hangar/Item one old carriage lined with iron/Item two sleds, one lined with iron and the other new”
The vegetable garden feeds the patients and residents of the General Hospital, whose number rise to just over 150 at the end of the 18th century. Financial records give an idea of what is being consumed: corn, flour, olive oil, butter, pepper, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, pumpkins, raspberries, plums, apples, onions, peas, beans, cabbage, turnips, white turnips, carrots, beets, molasses, brown sugar, poultry, eggs, fish, milk, beer, red wine, brandy, etc. While the meat, cereals and certain vegetables are produced by the Grey Nuns on their lands, the rest is purchased at the local markets.
Until the English Conquest of 1763, the Grey Nuns continue the brewery activities begun by the Charon Brothers in 1704 using cereal from their lands and the windmill located on the hospital compound. Part of the production is consumed at the hospital and the rest is sold to individuals and businesses. The brewery avoids the 1765 fire that destroys the hospital but is finally demolished in 1819.