Plaque(s)

Description of Historic Place

Sir John A. Macdonald’s Summer Residence National Historic Site of Canada stands on a rocky outcrop overlooking the St. Lawrence River on the northern side of Fraser Street in Rivière-du-Loup, Québec. Standing on a grassed lot dominated by conifers, the house is typical of summer residences in the lower St. Lawrence River region. Canada’s first Prime Minister after Confederation, the Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald (1815-1891) used this house as a summer residence between 1873 and 1890. The house served as a place of relaxation and work from which he was able to continue to govern the country. Official recognition refers to the house on its legal property at the time of designation.

Heritage Value

Sir John A. Macdonald’s Summer Residence was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2014 because:
it is closely associated with the Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald, one of the principal Fathers of Confederation and the first prime minister of Canada, who played a pivotal role in the country’s history;
between 1873 and 1890, the house served as a place of relaxation and work while he continued to govern the country. Issues addressed while he was in residence included the construction of the railway in western Canada, the economic challenges during the early 1880s, the development of the West, and important meetings held including the 1885 conclave of his inner cabinet of 13 ministers assembled to discuss the “Riel Affair”;
known as “les Rochers”, this large house is a representative example of the summer residences found in St. Patrice, in the lower St. Lawrence River region which became a popular resort community at the end of the 19th century frequented by businessmen, senior government officials and politicians including Governors General Lord Monck and Lord Dufferin, former Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent, and Lord Shaughnessy who purchased this property in 1895.

The architecture results from the successful blending of two rectangular structures from different periods and architectural styles. The core structure of Sir John A. Macdonald’s Summer Residence is an old farmhouse dating from about 1850. An imposing Second Empire style wing with mansard roof and dormers was added after the Macdonald’s bought the house in 1882. The central gable was also likely added soon after. The house was not rebuilt or renovated after the Macdonalds sold it, and few architectural changes have been made over the years, either inside or out.

The heritage value of the house also resides in its association with Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, and in its historical value. It was probably John A. Macdonald’s arrival in the area in the early 1870s that marked the high point of the popularity of Saint-Patrice as a resort. The Macdonalds’ presence attracted friends and associates who settled nearby, many of them businessmen with interests in railway companies, as well as politicians and high-ranking officials. Following Macdonald’s death, the house was sold in 1895 to Lord Thomas Shaughnessy, chairman of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company from 1899 to 1918. It later passed into the hands of Herbert Symington, first chairman of Trans-Canada Airlines. He purchased the house in 1939 and it remained in the Symington family until 1981 when it was acquired by Canadian Heritage of Quebec. In 2003, the house was inscribed within the Vieux Saint-Patrice heritage site, a district on the western side of Fraser Street containing forty farmhouses and summer residences associated with the popular resort community from the end of the 19th century.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that contribute to the heritage value of this site include:
its location within the historic area of Saint-Patrice in the county of Rivière-du-Loup in Québec on a grassed lot dominated by conifers overlooking a rocky outcrop between Fraser Street and the St. Lawrence River; the massing and rectangular, one-and-a-half-storey farmhouse core with a central gable, and later two-storey wing constructed in the Second Empire style; its timber construction; the elevations, clad in clapboard, with wide casement windows with shutters, and the placement of openings, windows and doorways; the composition of its façades and architectural details including the long gallery that runs around both façades and the rear and west ends, the crossbuck railing, the sculpted wooden braces on the columns, and the dormers
with ornamental wooden gables; its simple and efficient interior domestic plan, with a ground floor main entrance; surviving original materials and finishes, both exterior and interior, that speak to its period of use as the summer residence of the Macdonald family.

Commemorative Intent

Sir John A. Macdonald’s Summer Residence was designated for the following reasons:

• it is closely associated with the Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald, one of the principal Fathers of Confederation and the first prime minister of Canada, who played a pivotal role in the country’s history;

• purchased in 1882, the house served as a place of relaxation and work while he continued to govern the country. Issues addressed while Macdonald was in residence included the construction of the railway in western Canada, the economic challenges during the early 1880s, the development of the West, as well as the “Riel Affair,” which was discussed during a cabinet meeting held at the house in 1885;

• known as “les Rochers,” this large house is a representative example of the summer residences found in Saint-Patrice, in the lower St. Lawrence River region which became a popular resort community at the end of the 19th century frequented by businessmen, senior government officials and politicians including Governors General Lord Monck and Lord Dufferin, former Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent, and Lord Shaughnessy who purchased this property in 1895.

Source: HSMBC, SDC Minutes, May 2015