The Pointe-Claire Windmill (French: Moulin à vent de Pointe-Claire) is a

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in so ...

Pointe-Claire Pointe-Claire (, ) is a Quebec local municipality within the Urban agglomeration of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and retail. As of the 2021 c ...

, Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest windmill on the

island of Montreal The Island of Montreal (french: Île de Montréal) is a large island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, that is the site of a number of municipalities including most of the city of Montreal and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main ...

and one of 18 remaining windmills in Quebec. Like most mills in

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to King ...

it was built to a French design, a cylindrical stone tower with a movable roof which could be turned by a tail pole to face the

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails ma ...

s to the wind. The mill had two doors, to provide an exit regardless of which ways the sails faced. The walls are four French feet (1m32) thick at the base. The interior is 12 French feet in diameter by 24 high. The mill originally contained elevated platforms beneath gun slits for defence. The surrounding shoreline was fenced with pointed wooden stakes. However, the site was never attacked.

Chronology

* 1709: construction began in spring for the

Society of Saint-Sulpice The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris ...

by stone mason Jean Mars, and Léonard Paillé dit Paillard and his son Charles for other parts of the construction. * 1710: construction complete in the autumn, including a small wooden house for the miller. * 1824: major renovation * 1837: sold to Amable de Saint-Julien, farmer at Rigaud * 1866: sold to the Fabrique de Saint-Joachim-de-la-Pointe-Claire * 1866: sold to the

Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal The Congrégation de Notre Dame (CND) is a religious community for women founded in 1658 in Ville Marie (Montreal), in the colony of New France, now part of Canada. It was established by Marguerite Bourgeoys, who was recruited in France to creat ...

* 1885 (approximately): new sails * 1954: restoration, conical roof * 1967: new sails * 1983: classified a monument of Quebec.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Society for the preservation of the Heritage of Pointe-Claire webpage
Buildings and structures in Pointe-Claire Windmills in Canada Industrial buildings completed in 1710 Heritage buildings of Quebec 1710 establishments in the French colonial empire