The old Hôtel des Pins

On Chemin du Village, at the corner of Avenue A.-Bertrand, stands an impressive building, which in its heyday was known as the Hôtel des Pins. 

The rear of the hotel had a flat roof with a gentle slope to allow water to drain off to the rear. 

As tourism flourished around the 1930s, a new section was added to the front of the building, covered by a mansard roof with dormer windows. The numerous galleries gave tourists an unobstructed view of Lake St. Joseph.

Photo : The old Hôtel des Pins, 2023. 

Source : Société d’histoire de Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard, Tom Silletta photographer.

The first mention of this building in Saint-Adolphe is attributed to hotelier Joseph dit Jos Doré, who announces in the June 14, 1905 edition of Le Canada newspaper that his hotel is now open to lodge hunting and fishing enthusiasts. In 1907, when he officially acquired the site, he informed his fellow citizens that the Bell telephone central office was located in his building and that he would allow communications day and night.

Photo : Hôtel des Pins, property of Jos Doré. 

Source : Le présent du Passé, Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard 1883-1983. 

A former employee of the Canadian National Railway, Dosithée Forget acquired the Hôtel des Pins in 1911. He was elected chief magistrate of Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard in 1913. Re-elected four times, he left political life in 1919 and sold the hotel. He died in 1934.

Dosithée Forget, re-elected by acclamation as mayor of Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard in 1917, for a 4th term. 

Photo : Homier and Lavergne. 

Source: La Presse, January 24, 1917. 

Photo : Hôtel des Pins, around the 1930's.

Source : Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, W.-A. Gratton, photographer.

William, son of Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard pioneer Alphonse Beauchamp, married Florida Lorion in 1903. In 1911, Joseph-Louis Hébert, owner of the Sweetsburg House Hotel near Cowansville, sold the site to William Beauchamp. The first newspaper mention of the Hôtel des Pins appeared in 1933. Not to be confused with the Villa des Pins boarding house and the Auberge des Pins, which also existed in Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard.

The name des Pins or The Pines is very common in the Laurentians. This tree species is abundant in our forests and is frequently used as a building material, particularly the red pine variety. 

In 1941, Beauchamp sold the two-storey, 14-room hotel, including all the furnishings, to Camille Sigouin, a butcher from Saint-Hippolyte. Over the years, the hotel has undergone a succession of owners. The old hotel rooms have since been converted into apartments.

Source : Ad published in La Presse, Montreal, July 1st, 1933, p. 39.

Photo :  Postcard of the Hôtel des pins, in the 1940's.

Source : Société d’histoire de Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard.

Photo : Postcard of Hôtel des Pins, Toronto : Intaglio Engraving, unknown date.

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

Ad for Hôtel des Pins, Le Devoir, Montreal, June 20, 1946. 

Photo : Hôtel des Pins, 1958.           

Source : Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, joseph Guibord photographer.