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Pointe-à-Callière-Where Montréal Began

© Norman P. Goldman

Have you ever wondered where Montréal all began?

Historians generally agree that Samuel de Champlain should be given the credit for choosing the site of Montréal. However we must not loose sight of the fact that it was Jacques Cartier and his men who were the first Europeans to set foot on the Island of Montreal. After first establishing fur trading posts on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin in Nova Scotia, Champlain realized that these posts would be very difficult to defend and furthermore the Appalachian Range would be an obstacle to trade with the native people of the interior of the country.

As a result of these findings Champlain decided to move to a location along the St. Lawrence River where trade and commerce would be more rewarding than in Acadia.

Initially a settlement was established in Quebec in 1608 however Champlain, who was a very astute cartographer and geographer, realized that the fur trade would be very successful if a post were established on Montréal Island.

This site was initially named Place Royale and was located at the foot of the Lachine Rapids.

According to book edited by H.P. Biggar entitled "The Works of Samuel de Champlain" (Toronto, Champlain Society Publications) Champlain had made the following remarks:

"And near this Place Royale there is a small river, which leads some distance into the interior, alongside which are more than sixty arpents of land, which have been cleared and are now like meadows, where one might sow grain and do gardening…..So having examined very carefully and found this spot to be one of the finest on this river, I order the trees of the Place Royale to be cut down and cleared off, in order to level the ground and make it reading for building."

This locality corresponds to approximately where present day Pointe-à- Callière is situated and where the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History is located.

Many of the projects, which were envisaged for Place Royale by Samuel de Champlain, were never realized during his lifetime. However, he was convinced that Montréal would be a suitable site for a settlement due to its location, the richness of its soil and even the clay he found in the ground which could be used in the building of various structures.

Another thirty years elapsed before a permanent establishment was created on Place Royale and this was in 1643 under the direction of Sieur Chomedy de Maisonneuve who will be remembered as the founder of Montréal along with Jeanne Mance.

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