Site management

The National Historic Sites Policy ensures the commemorative integrity of national historic sites administered by Parks Canada and supports initiatives to protect and promote the sites.

The Forges du Saint-Maurice National Historic Site is one of them. Learn about the major orientations that will guide its conservation through time.

The first iron industry in Canada - and also the country’s first industrial village - the Forges du Saint-Maurice catered to the needs of settlers and the military. The blast furnace and two forges operated for 150 years, producing stoves, kettles, nails, ploughs, vehicle wheels, sawmill mechanisms as well as armaments. Come and explore how an entire community of workers and administrators built the Mauricie using hammers and anvils.

Step through the doors of the Grande Maison to discover a museum, important figures of the era and a multimedia show projected on a model of the town in 1845.

Then, on the way to the lower forge located near the Saint-Maurice River, see the remains of a typical iron-making operation built in a European style dating back to the end of the 15th century. Still standing is the only refining smokestack of its kind in Canada.