The Saint-Charles Farm at pointe Saint-Charles
When becoming administrators of the General Hospital, Marguerite d’Youville and her companions also become owners of property located alongside the Saint Lawrence River, approximately three kilometers south-west in nearby Pointe Saint-Charles.
Map of Pointe Saint-Charles (1657-1747), in Notes and plans/Sister Saint-Jean-de-la-Croix, s.g.m., circa 1907. Grey Nuns of Montréal’s Archives, General Administration’s Fonds, G06-A-5-07-planche 2
Inventory of the General Hospital, 1747. Manuscript. Grey Nuns of Montréal’s Archives, Charon Brothers’ Fonds, B-1-D-3
Transcription: “Item four plump heifer aged one year/Item four young heifer and one bull of the year/Item ten ewe and one ram/Item eight lamb of the year/Item three lamb of last year/Item two large swine ready to be fattened/Item six young, weaned pigs/Item a dozen and half hens and two roosters/Item twelve chickens/Item old turkey and two turkey chicks/followed by agricultural implements/Item two carts”
There they built a farmhouse in 1767 for a resident farmer and also to accommodate Nuns taking a retreat in in the countryside. This modest farmhouse had a large attic which served as a grain warehouse.
The account books record what was farmed: barley, oats, peas and rye. Livestock is raised mainly for sale: cows, sheep, lambs, calves, oxen, chickens, ducks, pigs, turkeys and geese. Other products sold include eggs, wool, leather and milk. The vegetables from the garden are consumed at the General Hospital.
Journal of receipts and expenses (extract), 1782. Manuscript. Grey Nuns of Montréal’s Archives, General Administration’s Fonds, G04-C-2-1-03
Receipts and expenses (extract), 1835. Manuscript. Grey Nuns of Montréal’s Archives, General Administration’s Fonds, G04-C-2-1-06
Figurative plan of the Sisters of the Montréal General Hospital’s property situated at Pointe Saint-Charles (1856), in Notes and plans/Sister Saint-Jean-de-la-Croix, s.g.m., circa 1907. Grey Nuns of Montréal’s Archives, General Administration’s Fonds, G06-A-5-07
The Saint-Farm is sold in 1853 and among the buyers is the Grand Trunk Railway Company which built rail depots and a marshalling yard. The farmhouse and barn survive until 1931 when they are demolished following a fire.
