Wouldn't it be nice to visit a museum while taking in a big breath of fresh air? A few kilometres from downtown Montreal, art and history combine at Musée de Lachine. In addition to housing a heritage site, the museum has a significant collection of contemporary sculptures scattered along the St. Lawrence shoreline.
As a municipal museum, its mission is to preserve, study and enhance the archaeological and historical heritage of Lachine, as well as the artistic heritage of Quebec and Canada. Visiting Le Ber-Le Moyne house is like diving into more than 300 years of history. Built in 1669, this former fur trading post — the oldest complete building on the island of Montreal — reflects the business activities of the period and the daily lives of its successive occupants: merchants, farmers, innkeepers and wealthy retirees. "It was necessary to stop there at the time,” explains Isabelle Lessard, director of operations. “People had no choice but to stop there, mostly because of the Lachine rapids, which were a major obstacle.”
But exploring the site doesn't end there. Archaeological excavations since 1998 have uncovered thousands of fragments and objects, some of which were integrated into the permanent exhibit, which shows the passage of the various inhabitants of the Le Ber-Le Moyne house, but also the Aboriginal presence there of over 2,500 years.
