Here, you are on the ancestral lands of the seigniory. Look behind you: you will find the St-François River there. Now look ahead: here is the stone monument of Fort Crevier.
On the façade, a heavy slab with writings summarizing the events that happened on the banks of the river, more than 320 years ago.
This monument is not the first, but rather the 2nd. It was erected in 1981 by the government of Canada to commemorate the historic site of the military fort.
On these banks stood a large wooden fort, built in September 1687, by order of the governor and intendant of the colony, Jacques René de Brisay, knight and Marquis of Denonville, by the censitaires of the seigniory, to protect themselves from attacks of the Iroquois-Mohawks.
The latter were encouraged by the British to do so. The fortification consisted of the manor of the lord, his chapel, a few houses, a building for the military and a mill, which was nearby.
There were several skirmishes, many of them fatal, between 1687 and 1693. Can you feel the fear the inhabitants had as they walked out of the fort? Feelings of fear and uncertainty reigned supreme.
They always had to be a group of at least 6 people when they were outside. Unfortunately, that wasn’t always enough…
In 1693, Lord Crevier was kidnapped by the Iroquois, taken to New England and then tortured. He was on the verge of death when an English officer, Peter Schuyler, commander of the Albany garrison, ransomed him, but it was too late.
After the peace treaties between the British and the French, then between the French and the natives in 1701, written evidences suggest that this fort was destroyed before 1710.