,.-; ct-^'ff^- (Pamphlet Collection) J^ rcn Q z^^;^' M»-.^0*A\tay -TORONTO, .s •••.:■:-:-.• -Tr- UBRARY *: •- '•" I i • » ' » ♦ 'I • • 111 Xtoronic * • ». 1 ' '. ? ! T .«♦ '«..;, < . ,V i^-- V"»- •^^ 'jj^ Historical Sketch oj l)Oisl)riaiit. si w X Historical Sketch of 'Boisbriant." I lie ()rii;iiial title was of date Kjtli January, 1672, ])>■ the creation, 1)\- M. Dollier de Casson, »Superior of the Sem- inary, vSeij^neur of the island of Montreal, of w fief noble, con- sistinjj; of two hundred arpeiits of land, situated at the head of the island on the borders of the lake of Two Mountains, called • " Hoisbriant." It was j^rant- ed on that date to vSidrac du CUic, vSieur de Hoisbriant, captain in the Cari.t,nian Reg- iment. In consideration of his zeal, and of his havint,^ already constructed a house at the head of [the island, M. Dol- lier de Casson added to this //>/' all the islands and reefs in front of it. Du (lue sold the j)roperty. on the 2<)th June, i^'j'j, to the famous Charles Le Mo>ne de Lon- i;iieuil and to Jaccpies Le Her, his brother- in-law, a merchant prince of those days. At this time there were only seven or eii;ht arpents of land in cultivation, with a house built of scjuared timber, one stor\- in height. with a garret and a "' i)ii' ■■ #_ ':■• ^e.'- ■ . • %. against the Iiulians, tliere liavint; l)eLMi an attack on his honse in the previons year, 16S7. In 1 69 1, tlie Irotiuois succeeded in burning the mill, altera jj^allant defence hy Le Her's people, including the fanner's wife, who defended a breach in the wall against three hundred Irocpiois. losing only two of their own number. In 1^193, the stone mill is mentioned in an inventory of the community of ])roperty between Jacques Le Ik-r and his deceased wife, and is de- scribed as threatening ruin on account of having been l)urnt "by our enemies, the Irocjuois." The tower must have been repaired, as it is still standing on the hill overlooking the lake and the long stretches of the Ottawa. This inx'entory also men- tions that at that time (December, 1693) it was imjKxssible to proceed from Montreal to the property, on account of the war which was raging with the Indians. At this time, there were thirty arpents of the ficf under cultivation, and a stone chim- ney had been added to the house. It was shortly after this date that the Till-; I-AKK WALK. fortified chateau known as " I-'ort Sennt.'- ville " was built !)>• Jac(|ues Lc Her's son. known as Le vSieur ck- Sennevilk-. IIIK AVKNl'l-; The exact date of the erection is unknown. It consisted of a stone liouse two stories in heij^ht, fronting upon a sheltered hay of the lake, and l)uilt just above hi.^;h water mark. In rear of the house, the walls were extended so as to form a large oi^en courtyard, rectangular in shape, and loopholed for musketry : the whole struc- ture being protected by square flanking tower!" at eacii corner, which commanded the walls and all ai)])roaclics to the fort, both from the water and the land. Here a large trade was carried on with the friendl\ Indians, frecjuentlv interrupted by fightinsj; with the hostile Iro(|nois, who seem to ha\e, at least on one occasion, succeeded in settinj.,^ fire to the building. An attack by the Mohank tribe, on the ui)])er v'ld of the island of Montreal, near the fort, is recorded as having taken place on the 21st June, 1747: in conse(pience, garrisons of soldiers and militia were kejit there in 1747 and I74>1. The fort was finally dismantled 1)>- a detachment of American troops de- si)atched for this i)urpose, on the march upon Montreal, in 1775. The jiroperty, in its original extei;t of two hundred ar])ents, finally in 1S65 came into the possession of the late Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, THE I.AWN. afterwards Piiine Minister of Canada, and is still in the possession of his family, with the exception of the back portion of the projierty, which has been sold since his death. He bnilt the jiresent manor honse, and restored to the fuf its ancient name of " Boisbriant." The ruins of the old fort, carefully preserved and covered with vines and creepers, form an interestin.i;- and pic- tures([ue feature in the landscape. On the si)()t where the fort was afterwards built, the intrepid Dollard des Ormeaux and his devoted little band would most probably have rested to recruit after their week's struj^gle with the rapids of vSte. Anne, two miles below, since rendered famous by Thomas Moore, in his Canadian boat-sonj^. Certain it is they passed by here, late in April, 1660, on iheir way to certain death at the foot of the Long Sault, Canada's Thermopyhe, where, for ten long days, they fought that Homeric fight against the combined forces of the Iroquois, as told in the Relations des Jesuites, and b}' the facile jien of Parkman ; and thus, by the sacrifice of their lives, saved their country from invasion. Amid these old ruins, the poet Moore must have often lingered and, ga/ing on " Ottawa's tide,'' may have been inspired to write his famous song. - ." -' . K JL' ■ ■ ■ \ I. ^D^< \ , ■. t hI ii^ ^HT/. \ •«* •■. ^'\jk 1 1 j^B^H^VuS^MflW^'**^'*''*^*''!' 1 ^1 H ^^^^^^^ ^^^H ^HP^^'* 1 V^^^H ^^H Hj^tenfeK^tf/Hr^* 5 .../:^JP BR ffi pv -^^ JMhmhh^^^H . . ■■■■■' w^^ ignnilii WtM »T fiJB m HH^^^S ^Kj^?^ 4 ^wppi Mi W ^^^' \^ ■ ^ gg| THK I.OVVKR I. AWN. X n 7! II HK manor liouse and domain of " Boishriaiit" art situated on the lake of Two Moun- tains, at the western end of the island of Montreal, and are about two miles distant from the villaj^e of Sainte- Anne-de-Hellevne, where are stations of the Canadian Pa- cific and C.rand Trunk rail- ways. The distance from Montreal is twenty-one ^i. miles, and there is a conve- nient service of trains. The train from Montreal to New York z'/ii the Adirondacks .stops liere. The manor house is built of stone, in the Ivnglisli cottai^^e ornee .style, and contains the usual accommodation of a j;(>.)d country- house. The interior decoration is simi)le, but in \-er\- <;()o(l taste, and electric lij^ht is installed. The ofllces, .stables, barns and forcinj; houses are amj)ly suitable to the re{|uire- ments of the establishment. The j.;arden and larj^e i)leasure };roun(ls ol about seventeen acres, includinj; a s.;rass tennis court, are extremely beautiful and are in jierfect order, and stocked with the r 2 choicest flowers and shrubs. The hirge orchard and the vinery, hothouses and kitchen garden are in perfect order. Attached to the house and grounds are a])out forty- five acres of pasture and aral)le land, quite suflicient for the needs of a small herd of fancy cattle stock or well-bred horses. The orchard, of full-bearing trees, contains about ten acres. There is, just opposite to the house, a good anchorage for yachts drawing six feet, and the lake of Two Mountains, besides large .sailing ground, affords good sport in fishing and shooting. There are .several fine country houses in the neighborhood. " Boi.sbriant" is in effect a very remark- able and unusually attractive property, and pos.ses.ses al.so much historic interest from the time of its first French .seigneurs down to the present day, when it was the home of the late vSir John Abbott, who died in 1893, Prime Minister of Canada. The romance of " Boi.sbriant " is .set forth in the accom- panying historical sketch. The manor house grounds and orchard are now for sale, preferably with the farm of about forty- five acres attached, and any further information that may be desired will be readily supplied by J. Tkv-Davik.s, Real Ivstate Aj,'eiit, IMONTRKAI, <''■' H^^^^•