History of the Area
The history of Shaughnessy Village is intertwined with
that of the Sulpician Order. In 1663 a domaine
measuring 20 arpents wide and 30 arpents deep was
ceded to the Sulpicians by the King of France. In 1676
a mission for the education of the Indians was built
and functioned under the supervision of Marguerite
Bourgeois until it was moved to Sault au Recollet in1696.
From the beginning of the 1700's the old Mission
consisted of a large house and a stone fort serving as a
summer residence for the Gentlemen of Saint Sulpice.
They enjoyed a panorama of the city, the St.Lawrence
River and the south shore.
According to a map published in 1846, the 'Domaine
des Pretres' de St. Sulpice, known as the Priest's Farm
and the first community outside of the old walls of
Montreal, remained mainly intact. Renovations and some
additions had been constructed to transform the old
Mission into a summer residence.
The Mission was located on an extension of
Sherbrooke Street between Guy and Atwater Streets.
The lands consisted of large open areas that were
intensively cultivated. Surrounding the Priest's Farm,
land was being divided into building lots of various sizes.
Some of these lots, the largest situated south of
Dorchester Street and north of Cote-des-Neiges, were
at that time occupied by large villas. East of the
Priest's Farm along Guy Street, the lots were of a more
modest dimension.
The Farm was divided by an allee that ran north/south
from the Priest's house to Dorchester Street (now
known as Boulevard Rene-Levesque). This allee later
became du Fort Street. The Sulpician house was
surrounded by orchards, a garden and a long reflecting
pool. At the other end of the allee on Dorchester
Street was a large property known as La Villa Rosa.
It included a park and a reflecting pool and was the
residence of Charles Wilson, the mayor of Montreal
from 1851 to 1853.
During the 1850's and 1860's major changes occured
to the Priest's Farm. The area between Sherbrooke
Street, Dorchester Street, Guy Street and the western
limit of the City of Montreal was subject to various
subdivisions. New streets were laid out, including the
extension of Saint Catherine Street to the western limit
of the city. This effectively reduced the size and
integrity of the farm.
The original site of the old stone fort and house was
developed into 'Le Grand Seminaire' between 1854
and 1857. All that remains of the 1694 buildings are
two stone towers now classified as Cultural Properties.
An historical display has been erected on Sherbrooke
Street between the two towers.
In 1861 the Sulpicians sold a large plot of land to the
community of Sisters known as the Grey Nuns. The
Sisters had decided to establish a Mother House and to
that end they purchased the property located between
Guy and Saint-Mathieu Streets and between
Dorchester and Ste-Catherine Streets. In April of 1869
construction began on the new hospital and convent
In 1871, the remains of the Order's
founder, the Venerable Mere d'Youville, were moved
from Pointe-a-Callieres to the new Mother House.
Dorchester Street became one of the most elegant
streets in Montreal. Between 1870 and 1880 there was
a large increase in residential construction and
development on the north side. On the south side
many of the earlier villas were subdivided and
developed as single-family townhouses or semi-
detached houses.
During the period between the 1870's and the 1890's
the interior streets from Guy to Atwater Street were set
out in an east to west progression, Bayle (later changed
to Baile), Tupper, Quiblier (later an extension of
Tupper), Seymour, Sussex, Essex and Hope. Rows of
stone and brick town houses were built on these streets.
The professional and business class of a steadily growing
city came to live here. It was only after 1890 that
commercial enterprises came to the area and were mainly
restricted to St. Catherine Street.
During the period 1940 to 1970, the area was in
transition. Many single family homes became either
small duplex and triplex apartments or rooming
houses. Some were sold for institutional use or for the
construction of apartment buildings of various heights
and sizes.
The 1970's saw changes in zoning laws which limited
future construction to three stories. This respected the
original character of the area. The inclusion of the
Grey Nuns Convent and the Shaughnessy House in the
Cultural Properties Protection Zone prevents large-
scale demolition or construction within the protected
zone.
It was in 1980 that the area bounded by St. Catherine
Street and Rene-Levesque Boulevard (formerly
Dorchester Boulevard) and by Guy and Atwater
Streets was named Shaughnessy Village after the
Shaughnessy Mansion (now a part of the Canadian
Centre for Architecture).
An association was formed by the property owners to
help create a pleasant and safe environment. Residents
are encouraged to beautify, restore and decorate their
homes in a manner consistent with the history of the
area.
