Pointe-Claire Mill

The historical mill of Pointe-Claire, built on the border of Lake St. Louis, is one of the oldest colonial vestiges on the shores of the Island of Montreal. The site of the mill corresponds to the section retained by the Sulpicians, the seigneurs of the island, when the territory was granted to Raphaël Beauvais in November, 1698.

The point was set aside to build a mill to respond to the needs of the tenants. On December 23, 1708, a contract was drawn up with father and son Paille for the construction of the mill's frame and all its mechanisms. A two-story wooden house for the miller was planned. A second contract was concluded February 27, 1709, with mason Jean Mars. According to this contract, the mason would "well and duly perfect… the limestone and sandstone masonry, 12 feet from side to side, 24 feet in height above the ground floor."

The mill was furnished with loopholes and was surrounded with a fence of upright stakes that served as protection against the Iroquois. The Sulpicians leased the mill and collected an annual rent.

The mill, however, could never fill the required quotas. It was sold on December 28, 1837, to Amable Saint-Julien, a farmer from Rigaud. In 1854, the point and the mill were sold to the Dubois family, and then acquired by the Congregation of Notre Dame in 1866.

The mill was no longer in use. Its building was crowned by a terrace roof used as an observatory, in the centre of which was a post and a windmill. This windmill activated the pump that fed the Sisters' of Congregation of Notre Dame private aqueduct before they were connected to the Pointe-Claire city’s water services.

The restoration of the mill began in 1954. The conical roof was rebuilt in 1962 and new wings added in 1967. Designed by architect Marc Angers, these wings were probably inspired by the mills of Vercheres and Ile-aux-Coudres.