Les Éboulements Heritage Trail

Heading east along the St. Lawrence Route (route 362), the first two stops are the Moulin banal des Éboulements, listed as a historic monument, and the Manoir Laterrière, better known today as Camp Le Manoir for its summer camps for children. One of the last working water mills in Quebec, the Moulin seigneurial des Éboulements is a charming white flour mill with a sawmill, former stable, bakery and even a chapel as neighbours. Manoir Laterrière, next door, is the second manor house ever built in Les Éboulements, circa 1811, and features many buildings in matching red and white.

Turn right down the steep hill that plunges into the majestic St. Lawrence River and you’ll soon find yourself in Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive, formerly known as “Les Éboulements-en-Bas” or “Quai-des-Éboulements.” This is where you’ll find the Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive church, commonly known as the “chapelle des touristes” (tourist chapel), as well as its presbytery and dainty pavilion with a view of the tides. If you follow the route map, you’ll also come across the home of the late Father Félix-Antoine Savard, who gained fame with his novel Menaud, maître-draveur, as well as that of Captain Joseph-Arthur Desgagnés, nicknamed J.A.Z.

If you turn right on rang Éboulements-Centre, heading up the hill towards the 362, you’ll see some magnificent French- and Quebec-inspired houses across from their fields and the river below, as well as an authentic hillside root cellar inspired by traditional indigenous methods.

Back on the St. Lawrence Route, as you drive slowly along or park at the church in Les Éboulements, you’ll have the chance to admire several carefully preserved heritage buildings, including one painted with whitewash. This one-time chicken coop became the main residence of renowned painter Claude LeSauteur and is also a must-see on this section of the route. A little further on, the forge featured in the soap opera Le temps d’une paix, the church, its presbytery and its picturesque hilltop cemetery overlooking both water and mountains are also worth a visit, if only to enjoy a breath of fresh air.

Finally, it’s en route for Cap-aux-Oies, where the small schoolhouse, designed to accommodate between 20 and 25 students, will charm you, while the rural neoclassical style of homes typical of those often found on country roads in the past will easily conjure up images of children of all ages running around and working hard in the fields, as was the case not so long ago for the large families strewn about Quebec.

Happy travels!