We finally went to visit the Manoir Papineau National Historic Site in Montebello. Unfortunately, the last time we tried to get there, we couldn’t get inside as the gate was closed, but we did walk around.
Where is Manoir Papineau located?
We are so lucky nowadays to have technology with us, so enter it into your phone or your GPS:
500 Rue Notre Dame, Montebello, QC J0V 1L0
About the history of the place:
The Seigneurial System
Seigneurial tenure was a legal and economic system of landholding which originated in France and was introduced in New France as a basis of settlement. The seigneury was an estate, or fief, which the king granted to a lord (or seigneur in French), who was in charge of settling colonists (called censitaires ) on parcels of land. For his trouble, the seigneur was paid rent and dues and enjoyed several honorific rights as well. Farming was the mainspring of the seigneurial economy. Between 1624 and 1760, 250 seigneuries were ceded, 200 of which were located along both shores of the St. Lawrence River and its main tributaries.
La petite nation
François de Laval, bishop of Petrea and vicar apostolic of New France, became seigneur of La Petite-Nation on May 16, 1674. This 25-league fief (5 leagues along the Ottawa River shore by five miles inland) was named after the Algonquin tribe called the Petite Nation and which had previously inhabited the area.
This mountainous, forested area covering 635 km2 had little arable land. For more than 50 years, only a single grant of land had been made. Afterward, the Crown prohibited any settlement, as markets and defense posts were too far distant. In addition, the authorities did not want to jeopardize the Ottawa Valley fur trade.
Seigneur Papineau
In 1803, Joseph Papineau, a notary and politician became the new seigneur of La Petite-Nation. He built a manor house on his domain on Roussin Island and began settling the first censitaires. Then, in 1817, he sold the seigneury to his oldest son, Louis-Joseph. Denis-Benjamin, the brother of Louis-Joseph, was in charge of managing the lands, which 300 people inhabited.
After returning from exile, Louis-Joseph Papineau set up permanent residence in the seigneury and began work building the manor house he was to complete in 1850. By that time, the seigneury numbered 3289 inhabitants, who occupied approximately 30% of the total surface area.
Upon Louis-Joseph Papineau’s death in 1871, the seigneury was split among the descendants. The portion bequeathed to Louis-Joseph-Amédée Papineau went by the name of the “Papineau seigneury,” whereas the part left to the children of the late Azélie Papineau and Napoléon Bourassa went by the name of “La Petite-Nation seigneury proper.”
The seigneurial system of land tenure was officially abolished in 1854.
The people who lived in the Manoir:
Louis-Joseph Papineau, between 1850 and 1860
Built between 1848 and 1850, the manor house bears the unmistakable stamp of its creator, Louis-Joseph Papineau, who oversaw the laying out of his domain down to the minor details: “In the isolation of this location, I have been architect, farmer, designer, and gardener.” However, several indications suggest that he was very involved in designing the rooms and choosing the furnishings.
Retirement from political life prompted him to devote himself entirely to developing the domain according to his precise specifications and in keeping with his notions of integrity and pride.
The Papineau family tree has two branches: the Papineau descendants and the Bourassa descendants.
Louis-Joseph Papineau (1786-1871) and Julie Bruneau (1795-1862) had nine children, five of whom survived into adulthood: Amédée, Lactance, Ézilda, Gustave and Azélie. Of these five children, two had descendants: the eldest, Amédée, who carried on the Papineau line, and the youngest, Azélie, who began the Bourassa line as a result of her marriage to Napoléon Bourassa, a renowned painter, and Quebec art historian.
Azélie and Napoléon were also the parents of Henri Bourassa, a significant figure in early modern Quebec and Canadian political history.
Amédée Papineau: 1871 to 1903
The eldest son of Louis-Joseph Papineau became life tenant of the domain upon the death of his father. From 1871 to 1903, he made several changes to the manor house, which perpetuated the spirit and legacy of his father. Thus, for example, he had a fourth story added to the library tower, fitted out a second drawing room (the blue room), and turned one of the conservatories into a smoking lounge. In addition, Amédée installed running water in the manor house and was responsible for building the family museum and tea house.
The Era of Caroline Rogers Papineau: 1903 to 1929
Barely one year after Amédée passed away, his son Louis-Joseph III died in 1904. Louis-Joseph’s widow, Caroline Pitkin Rogers, inhabited the manor house with her four sons: Louis-Joseph IV, James Randall Wescott, Talbot Mercer, and Philippe Montigny. Few changes were made to the house during this period. With financial difficulties, the family auctioned off most books in the library in 1922. In the end, the Papineaus were no longer able to defray the costs of upkeep and resolved to sell the manor house and outbuildings on September 23, 1929.
The Era of the Seigniory Club: 1929 to 1970
Except for the funeral chapel and adjoining cemetery, the former seigneurial domain was sold at auction. The buyer then resold this property to Lucerne-in-Québec Community Association Limited, a private resort club.
In 1929 and 1930, the new owners made several significant changes to the manor house, which seriously altered the sobriety of the decor designed by Louis-Joseph Papineau. A large ballroom was created on the second floor in place of most of the former bedrooms. In the basement, a billiards room and a mock Elizabethan tavern replaced the servants’ quarters and a portion of the kitchens. Beginning in 1933, the establishment went by “Seigniory Club Community Association Limited.” On November 4, 1970, the Canadian Pacific hotel company took over the resort, acquiring the name of “Château Montebello.”
How to visit the Manoir?
First, you will have to pay the entrance fee: $8.50, or if you have the annual Discovery Pass, it is free (actually, the yearly pass is$145.25 for all the people with you )
You will have to go on a group tour to get inside the Manoir, but we were fortunate as the one presenting was good. She told us many stories about the place and the people living there.
As Louis Joseph Papineau was exiled in Paris, you can feel this European architecture inside. The Manoir was not used during the winter as it was difficult to get heat everywhere. So when you enter, you are in the family rooms, and when they had people coming over, they went directly to the South Entrance.
It was so interesting to see their bedrooms, especially the one from his daughter Ezeldia (who had dwarfism, and she was literally small).
We saw Louis Joseph Papineau’s bedroom, where he died, in his favorite chair next to his chimney, his books, and his view of the garden.
Once you are done with the visit to the Manor, you can walk around and discover a few things:
-the Funeral Chapel: this Gothic Revival-style building was completed in 1855. Six generations of Papineau were buried there in the crypt or in the outdoor cemetery.
-The Orangerie: In 1881, Amédée Papineau had this greenhouse built to protect certain plants from winter. It consists mainly of citruses, yuccas, and cacti
-The Family Museum: Built-in 1880 at the urging of Amédée Papineau, until 1920, this cabinet of curiosities included a number of works of art and souvenirs brought over from Europe and Africa. You can even dress up as the inhabitants of the Manoir.
-The Granary: Built in 1855, the grain storehouse was used to store the grain of the censitaires. The painter Napoléon Bourassa, son-in-law of Louis Joseph Papineau, had his studio on the first floor between 1858 and 1871
-The Tea House: In 1860, Louis Joseph Papineau had a henhouse/ dovecot built. In 1887, it was converted into a greenhouse, then around 1913, the upper part of the greenhouse was demolished and the building was transformed into a tea house.
“Come in August if the sight of the gardens in bloom appeals to you; come in September if you love fruit and splendor of the last days of summer. But if you really want to please me, come at both times”. Letter from Louis-Joseph Papineau to Robert Christie
Come and enjoy this place as we did, and if you have time, take time to visit Montebello village (and its chocolaterie!), and walk the Fairmont hotel as it is beautiful and they even have some trail you can do.
