This house is considered a local historic site given its unique architecture and its age.
This house is one of the oldest in Rockland-East (TARO). Built in 1876, it was home to an Irish family. When the Edwards mills closed in 1926, the family permanently left Rockland. In the 1930s, Émile Henri purchased the house. His son Yvain Henri inherited the house in 1940 and moved in with his wife and their nine children. All of Yvain’s children went to university, which was quite rare back then.
It was built in 1876, a little over ten years before the construction of the first Catholic chapel of Rockland that was erected in 1887. At the time, the red brick home was away from the main street and the walkway that once led to a superb veranda is now demolished.
Rockland anecdote:
At the beginning of the 20th Century, Rockland-East was nicknamed Taro. With the development of Rockland, Laurier Street was paved, but not the East section of the city called Cemetery Road. Back then tar was laid on the road for dust control. The people of Rockland-West started calling the people of Rockland-East Tar Road People. Taro residents called the people of Rockland-East 'Pitons' to make fun of them. "Pitons" were tokens used by the Edwards Company to pay workers, which could then be used to make purchases at the general store.