Fort Longueuil was a stone

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

that stood in

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...

, in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

from 1690 to 1810. Fort Longueuil was recognized as a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

on May 25, 1923. The historic site includes the

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

of the fort, which was demolished in 1810. The site extends beneath the present-day Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue Cathedral. It is one of the only buildings in Canada that could ever be considered a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

(fortified residence for a noble), and out of those buildings it most resembles the castles of Europe. This makes it unique in the country.

History

The territory of

New France New France (, ) was the territory 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 Kingdom of Great Br ...

was divided into seigneuries in order to ensure the colony's defence. Of these seigneuries, Charles Le Moyne was granted the ''Seigneury of Longueuil''. His son, Charles Le Moyne de Longueuil, built a fort with four towers between 1685 and 1690 as his fortified residence. The fort was built entirely in stone masonry, and included a guard house, a chapel and corps de logis.

Louis de Buade de Frontenac Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS Louis, HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy Se ...

and Jean Bochart de Champigny then asked King Louis XIV to erect the seigneury of Longueuil as a

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

, which he did in 1700, establishing the Barony of Longueuil. Charles Le Moyne de Longueuil was the only Canadian-born person to be raised to the rank of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

by a

French King France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

. Fort Longueuil was believed to be occupied by American troops during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. It was subsequently occupied by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

. It was demolished in 1810 because of its poor condition.

Location

The fort was located in the Old Longueuil neighbourhood. It was partly situated on the site of the Co-Cathedral of Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue, Saint-Charles Street, Chambly Road, the site of a

Laurentian Bank The Laurentian Bank of Canada (LBC; ) is a Schedule I banks, Schedule 1 bank that operates primarily in the province of Quebec, with commercial and business banking offices located in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia. LBC's Ins ...

branch and a restaurant. Parts of the fort are visible in the Royal Bank of Canada branch through a special made hole in the floor.

Description

It measured 68 meters long by 46 meters wide. The interior of the fort included:Aveu du 17 avril 1723, in Louis Lemoine op. cit. p. 60-61 *a house 72 X 24 feet *a chapel of 45 X 22 feet *a guard house of 25 X 25 feet *a barn of 70 X 30 feet *a barn to house 12 horses *stables to house 40 cattle *a barn 30 feet squared and other necessary farm buildings

History

Location

Description

References

Further reading