Paysan Park

The name of this park, which features a play structure, was chosen to honor the farmers who built Sainte-Adèle.

Our town developed thanks to the courage and tenacity of its many farmers, including the Béléc, Bélair, Brunet, Campeau, Charbonneau, Desjardins, Forget, Lacasse, Lauzon, Payment, Renaud, Rollin, Saint-Louis families, and many others.

The development of the area began in the early 1840s with the arrival of Augustin-Norbert Morin, who was appointed Commissioner of Crown Lands.

A former Prime Minister of Lower Canada and a Superior Court judge, Morin purchased land in the township known as Abercrombie. These plots were allocated to settlers eager to establish themselves in the region. He built a sawmill, a grain mill, and a carding mill for the farmers.

Photo: The Honorable Augustin-Norbert Morin. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. Ellisson & Co. Circa 1870.

The history of Sainte-Adèle truly begins in 1846 with the creation of the Sainte-Adèle parish, six years later. A few settlers were established here and there, but no records exist to confirm their connection to the region.

Jérémie Campeau was part of the committee responsible for verifying the costs of constructing the new church. The place of worship was built by master carpenter Isidore Legault. A brand-new village developed around Lac Rond.

Photo: Engraving of the first church of Sainte-Adèle, 1852-1952. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. André Hamel Collection.

In 1861, notary Jean-Baptiste Villemure purchased the still uncultivated lands of Augustin-Norbert Morin. Dr. Joseph Benjamin Lachaîne acquired the other developed part of Morin's estate. 

The sawmill continued to be managed by brothers Jules and Maxime Meilleur, a carpenter and a joiner who were very busy with the establishment of new residents. Adolphe Marier and his family remained on site to operate the flour mill. Morin passed away in 1865 in the house in Sainte-Adèle, which he never lived in.

Photo: Former house of Augustin-Norbert Morin built in 1842. Archives of the City of Sainte-Adèle.

The 1851 census shows that in Sainte-Adèle, names such as Moïse Bélec, François-Xavier Brunet, Magloire Derepentigny, François Desjardins, Casimir and Jérémie Guestier, Jean-Baptiste Groulx, François Meilleur, Joseph Renaud, François Valiquette, and many others can be found.

Jean-Baptiste Groulx and his wife left Sainte-Scholastique to settle in Sainte-Adèle in 1858. They had many descendants, who in turn settled on land in the region. According to Paul Meilleur, Joseph Groulx was a farmer and trapper and lived on what is now the Lac Renaud road in Sainte-Adèle.

Photo: One of their children, Joseph Groulx (1836-1926), and his wife Délima Marenger (1835-1928) in front of their house. Collection Paul Meilleur.

Jean Valiquette, a locksmith and gunsmith, arrived in New France in 1653. Among his descendants, François Valiquette married Édesse Filion, and their sons Dieudonné and Joseph were among the first pioneers to settle in 1883 on the 10th range of Abercrombie Township, now renamed Notre-Dame Street. Dieudonné married Bernadette St-Germain at the church of Sainte-Adèle on July 7, 1903.

Photo: Bernadette Saint-Germain, her husband Dieudonné, little Rolland, and Léonard Valiquette. Collection: Valiquette Family.

The arrival of the Derepentigny family in Sainte-Adèle can be placed around 1860, as Éloïse, the daughter of Magloire (1836-1905), was born in Sainte-Adèle in 1862. In 1884, Magloire acquired 50 acres of land on Range 4, in Morin Township. In 1898, Joseph acquired the adjacent part of the land already owned by the family, including buildings and a sawmill.

Photo: The bathers in the Rivière des Mulets in front of the Derepentigny house on Range 4, renamed Chemin du Moulin. Collection: Derepentigny Family.

Photo: 1st row: Paul-Émile, Pacifique, Émelda Pagé, Onias Lamoureux. 2nd row: Dorothée, Rosianne, Rosianne, Gonzague, and Lucida. Collection: Paul Meilleur.

Moise Bélanger, François Paquette dit Lavallée, Moïse Bénaiche, Israël Desjardins, Onias Lamoureux, Arthur Aveline, and a few others operate blacksmith shops and repair carriages damaged by the condition of the roads.
The inspectors responsible for configuring the roads are Joseph Legault dit Deslauriers and Louis Gagnon.

Photo: Former house of the blacksmith Lamoureux, Morin Street, 2016. Archives of the City of Sainte-Adèle.

Photo: Former house of blacksmith Aveline, on Valiquette Street. Archives of the City of Sainte-Adèle.