Chateau Ramezay

In 1705, the Governor of Montreal, Claude de Ramezay decided that he needed an elegant house befitting his station in life. He was a bit of an egotist. He built his "chateau", and accompanying 40,000 square feet of gardens, about a quarter mile from Montreal's Notre Dame Cathedral. Seventy years later, when the Americans captured Montreal, they used the building as their Canadian headquarters for the Continental Army. Benjamin Franklin reportedly stayed here when visiting Montreal. Following the British conquest of Canada in 1849, the building became the official residence of the British Governor of Montreal. By 1893, the government in Quebec felt they no longer had use for the Chateau and decided to put it up for auction. The Antiquarian and Numismatic Society saw the historic value of the property and were successful in saving it and turning the property into a museum. We enjoyed the unique opportunity of visiting Chateau Ramezay.

The Chateau Ramezay.

Montreal's Coat of Arms. It represents the four major communities that make up the city; the French (Beaver); the British (Rose); the Scots (Thistle); and the Irish (Shamrock).

The Salles de Nantes formal room for ceremonies. The paneling came from a private mansion in Nantes (thus the name).

Looking towards the other direction in the Salles de Nantes.

The Hurons were a major ally at the time of Governor Ramezay. This picture shows the newly electedHuron Chief with his Tribal Council.

A typical bed chamber from the time period.

Many of the one story homes of the time had a "Common Room" that served as a bed room, kitchen, family room, and guest room.

The "Common Room" could also serve as the main dining area. Notice the drum-like mechanism built into the wall. This was used to rotate meat as it cooked slowly over the fire. It was common to put a small dog inside the drum as the driving force for rotating the meat.

Following the American's capture of Montreal in 1775, the building was used as the headquarters for the Continental Army.

The gardens were segmented for specific purposes; decorative plants; kitchen foods; orchards; etc.

Whatever was needed for the running of the household could be grown in the gardens.