We Know
The Locality On Which Stood The Warehouse Of M. Perrault, Junior, Also
That Of M. Tache (The Chronicle Bureau), But Who Can Point Out To
Us Where Stood The Houses Of Desery, Maillou, Voyer, De Voisy, And The
Vaults Of Messieurs Benjamin De La Mordic, Jehaune, Maranda?
It is on record that Champlain, after his return to Quebec, in 1633, "had
taken care to refit a
Battery which he had planted on a level with the
river near the warehouse, the guns of which commanded the passage between
Quebec and the opposite shore." [97] Now, in 1683, "this cannon battery,
erected in the Lower Town, almost surrounded on all sides by houses, stood
at some distance from the edge of the river, and caused some inconvenience
to the public; the then Governor, Lefebvre de la Barre [98] having sought
out a much more advantageous locality towards the Point of Rocks (Pointe
des Roches) west of the Cul-de-Sac, [99] and on the margin of the said
river at high-water mark, which would more efficiently command and sweep
the harbour, and which would cause far less inconvenience to the houses in
the said Lower Town," considered it fit to remove the said battery, and
the Reverend Jesuit Fathers having proposed to contribute towards the
expenses which would be incurred in so doing, he made them a grant "of a
portion of the lot of ground (emplacement) situated in front of the site
on which is now planted the said cannon battery, * * * * between the
street or high road for wheeled vehicles coming from the harbour [100] and
the so-called St. Peter street."
Here then we have the origin of the Napoleon wharf and a very distinct
mention of St. Peter street. The building erected near this site was sold
on the 22nd October, 1763, to William Grant, Esquire, who, on the 19th
December, 1763, also purchased the remainder of the ground down to low-
water mark, from Thomas Mills, Esquire, Town Major, who had shortly before
obtained a grant or patent of it, the 7th December, 1763, from Governor
Murray, in recognition, as is stated in the preamble of the patent, of his
military services. This property which, at a later period, belonged to the
late William Burns, was by him conveyed, the 16th October, 1806, to the
late J. M. Woolsey. The Napoleon wharf, purchased in 1842 by the late
Julien Chouinard from the late Frs. Buteau, forms at present part of the
Estate Chouinard; in reality, it is composed of two wharves joined into
one; the western portion is named "The Queen's Wharf," and was Mr.
Woolsey's property.
The highway which leads from the Cape towards this wharf is named "Sous-
le-Fort" street, which sufficiently denotes its position; this street, the
oldest, probably dates from the year 1620, when the foundations of Fort
St. Louis were laid; we may presume that, in 1663, the street terminated
at "la Pointe des Roches." In the last century "Sous-le-Fort" street was
graced by the residences, among others, of Fleury de la Janniere, brother
of Fleury de la Gorgendiere, brother-in-law of the Governor de Vaudreuil.
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