Les samedis de l'histoire - Villeray Village

Presented by Guy Gaudreau, historian, urban planner and Professor Emeritus at Laurentian University, and Normand Guilbaut, geographer and retired executive of Cégep Édouard-Montpetit, this lecture is called Villeray Village, 1896-1911: Land Use and Built Environment.

Founded in 1896, Villeray village was annexed to Montréal in 1905. One of the smallest villages to be integrated into the City of Montréal, Villeray has attracted very little attention from professional historians until now. Nevertheless, its ephemeral existence and small size facilitate the exhaustive analysis of its initial development thanks to a wide range of sources. This conference will notably show that the promises of sales held by several residents allow for an earlier land occupation than suggested by land registry documents and that certain clauses in building lot sales contracts have had decisive impacts as revealed by fire insurance plans.

The Société historique de Montréal lecture series is presented thanks to a partnership with Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Archaeology and History Complex.