The ferry

This ferry connected the end of Camiré Street to the «Côte de la Traverse» at Odanak, clearly visible on the other side.

This small drawing represents a ferry with a pole linking Saint-François-du-Lac and Odanak.

We are at the end of the «Rue de la Traverse.» This name recalls the ferry crossing service, that is to say using a flat-bottomed boat, which linked the 2 banks to allow pedestrians and goods to cross the river. A trustworthy man acted as ferry.

On board the boat, a man pulled on a steel cable stretched between the 2 banks to move the ferry forward: this means of conveyance was called the «maillet». However, on an older map, we see a ferry using a pole to cross the waves.

Two crossings were in operation between Saint-François-du-Lac and Pierreville and Odanak. The crossing linking Camiré Street to Odanak is the oldest. It was gradually abandoned in favor of the crossing facing Pierreville, on the other side of the bridge.

The man with the pole, mentioned earlier, could be François Plamondon. This farmer worked as a ferryman for more than 25 years, and during the War of 1812 he ferried British troops from one bank to the other. François Plamondon is also known in the history of the village for having given part of his land to allow the construction of the current church. It is always possible to locate the ferry on the map located inside the church of Saint-François-du-Lac.

In the Notre-Dame-de-Pierreville sector, the same means of transportation was also offered. In the early 1930s, the commissioning of the road bridge linking Saint-François-du-Lac to Pierreville put an end to the activities of the crossing. But this ancient means of transport never really died out.

Nowadays, a pontoon shuttle service is offered to cyclists wishing to go from one shore to the other, between Ile Saint-Jean and Notre-Dame-de-Pierreville. This experience brings us closer to the means that was used for a long time to connect the two shores.

CHARLAND, Thomas-M, O.P. Histoire de Saint-François-du-Lac, Ottawa, Collège Dominicain, 1942.

CÔTÉ, Jean-Luc. Pierreville retrouvé... en photos : avec un bref regard sur Saint-François-du-Lac, La Baie-du-Febvre, Odanak et Notre-Dame-de-Pierreville, Pierreville, La Société  historique de la Région de Pierreville, 1987.

Photo Credits:

Crossing between Pierreville et Saint-François-du-Lac: CÔTÉ, Jean-Luc. Pierreville retrouvé... en photos : avec un bref regard sur Saint-François-du-Lac, La Baie-du-Febvre, Odanak et Notre-Dame-de-Pierreville, Pierreville, La Société historique de la Région de Pierreville, 1987, page 49.

The ferry pulled by a maillet, 1912: GÉLINAS. P.E. Côte de la traverse, village abénaquis, Pierreville, Qc, 1912, Tirage à la gélatine argentique, 8,5 x 13,9 cm, Photographie – Collection documentaire Musée McCord Stewart.

The ferry with a pole, 1841: CHARETTE, Dominic, 2022. Détail du Plan d'un terrain donné à sa grandeur monseigneur l'évêque de Québec: par les sieurs François Plamondon et Élie Gill notables cultivateurs de la paroisse de St-François, district de Nicolet pour y bâtir une église, ainsi qu'il appert en deux actes de donation passées devant Me Wm Pitt notaire en date du 22 mars 1838 et tel que mesuré et borné par le soussigné St. Michel d'Yamaska 4e septembre, 1841. Fonds Fabrique de la paroisse Saint-François-Xavier, Saint-François-du-Lac.