You are in front of a small log camp in the back of the Parc du Marais. To be fair, this ancestral-looking building is a faithful replica of the authentic cabin that hosted the Zouaves when they arrived in Piopolis.
It was an old lumber camp, probably built by the Scots and then abandoned. It was chosen to shelter the new colonizers upon their arrival in this still virgin region.
The replica of the Zouaves hut was built in 1971 during the centenary of Piopolis and it has been moved several times. This makes it the first nomadic house in Piopolis. It now serves as a place of interpretation, settled as it could have been at that time.
If we have brought you here, it is precisely to introduce you to a whole section of the history of Piopolis: the nomadic houses. As you walk through the village, you can count 24 of them: they carry a sign: nomadic house.
Just like the Zouaves hut, the first nomadic house on our circuit, real houses have been moved to reach their current location in the village. It was no small task, with the means of the time!
It was around 1907 that this adventure of nomadic houses began, with the construction of the new church where it is now. The old church was in the old village, 4 km away. You will learn more about the reasons for the move in the section on the church.
The nomadic houses are therefore the work of families who wanted to follow the village, or sometimes others who simply wanted a change of scenery.
In this section, we present you some houses with an amazing history. You will find more information on each of the houses in the village by consulting the impressive work of Annonciade Grenier, the nomadic houses book available at the Zouaves halt.