Édouard-Bellefleur House

Édouard Bellefleur Sr. and his wife Mathilda Paquette were married in 1862. On May 18, 1891, when the family welcomed their twelfth child, the government donated a beautiful piece of land bordering Lake Saint-Joseph.                                                              

At the beginning of the 20th century, a sawmill was located on the land adjacent to the Bellefleur house at 1950 chemin du Village.

Photo : The Édouard-Bellefleur House, 2023.

Source : Société d’histoire de Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard, Tom Silletta photographer.

Photo : View of the mill, on the left, in the village of Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard, 1900.

Source : Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

The 1913 register of sawmills in the province of Quebec notes that Aldéric Bellefleur, son of Édouard, operates one of two sawmills in Saint-Adolphe. The other is owned by J.-H. Armstong, near Lac Sainte-Marie.                                            

A shrewd businessman, the municipality entrusts him with auditing the books kept by secretary-treasurer Adélard Gratton. Aldéric Bellefleur died in 1924 at the age of 94. The mill remained in operation until at least the mid-1930s.

Photo : Workers in front of the Bellefleur mill, date unknown.

Source : Société d’histoire de Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard.        

Photo : Edouard Bellefleur Jr., in front of his grocery store, date unknown.

Source : Société d’histoire de Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard.

Édouard Bellefleur Jr. had this house built on the site of the old mill. He ran a grocery store on the first floor and the family lived upstairs. The site was divided up and sold in lots to different owners. Initially a town councillor, he was elected mayor in 1951.

Source : Le Devoir newspaper, May 22, 1948.