The Moving Houses

As you walk through the village, you will notice here and there houses that bear the inscription Maison Nomade (Nomadic House).

This is an important and impressive part of the history of Piopolis. With the relocation of the church, in 1907, several families arrived from around taking their house with them.

It is by various means that these houses have been moved, often in their entirety, to the location they occupy today to form the charming village of Piopolis.

A few words about houses with an amazing course.

This house built around 1900 in the Rang de la Papine was moved near the quay in 1924. Once in the village, it was enlarged and covered with stones.

It then belonged to Olivier Grenier, who moved it with his own trucks. He owned 8 trucks with which he did various jobs such as opening paths, removing rocks in the fields and, of course, moving houses.

This house originally built on the Papine route, near the Bergeron River, has undergone a spectacular move.

It was pulled on "sleighs" passing by the construction roads that ran along the Bergeron River. The house went out on the way to the Bergeron River and then went to the village of Piopolis, where it is now.

It was moved when it belonged to Godefroy Grenier, who had a farm and a forge that he operated on his land, hence the name of this street (Old Forge). To get closer to the lake and the village, he lowered his house from the top of the hill to its current location. He built a new section and he covered it with stones by himself.

Of this beautiful green house originally existed only the left part. It was then located in front of the church. The building was a stable built for those who wanted to uncouple their horses to attend Sunday Mass.

The stable was bought by Hector Turcotte, the only barber for men in Piopolis, who moved it about 500 meters from where it was, to make it his home. The current owners totaly transformed the house and added the new section to it.

This stone house probably holds the record for moves. Built in 1898 at the end of the Rang des Grenier, it was moved to the village, near the marina, passing over the frozen lake. The house stayed there for several years.

Sold to new owners, it went more than 4 kilometers away, on the way to Bury!

In 1943, it experienced its last move which brought it back to the village, to its current location. Fortunately, it was only at that time that it got covered with stones!

This house comes from the way to Bury. It had been deconstructed piece by piece and carefully rebuilt at its current location.

In this house was held a general store, it was called "Chez Maria" (At Maria’s).
 

In 1858, this three floors family home in Piopolis was purchased to be converted into a hotel... in Saint-Ludger. It travelled 40 miles with the help of 3 trucks from Olivier Grenier. It overcame great difficulties on the winding and mountainous dirt road, but it arrived safe and sound after... 90 days of travelling!

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.