Grosse-Île and the Irish Memorial

Celtic cross of 1909 © Parks Canada / J.P. Jérôme, 1994

In 1974, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC) recognized the Grosse-Île quarantine station as a site of national historic significance. Renamed in 1996, the site today commemorates the importance of immigration to Canada, the tragedies that befell Irish immigrants at Grosse-Île, mainly in 1847, and the site’s role as quarantine station for the Port of Québec, long the main entry point for immigrants to Canada.
                  
From 1815 to 1941, Québec City was the main port of arrival for European immigrants to Canada, with 4.3 million people passing through. Located in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, downstream from the city, Grosse-Île operated as part of the immigration services based in the Port. In 1832, the government established a quarantine station on the island to combat cholera epidemics; Grosse-Île thus became the first landfall for tens of thousands of immigrants until 1937. Sometimes tragedy awaited them: in 1847, typhus and cholera took the lives of 5,000 people on the island, most of them fleeing epidemics and famine in Ireland. Many buildings reflect the travails of these people, including the quarantine hospital, the monuments to the dead and the burial sites, particularly the Irish cemetery.

Early quarantine station facilities at Grosse Ile, 1832 © Parks Canada / Sketch by B. Duchesne, 1996

Today, the site shows how the station developed, along with quarantine methods: the overall appearance has altered little from the station’s earliest days but the buildings show the changes that took place mainly in the 20th century. In 1991, the Federal Heritage Building Review Office gave classified federal heritage building status to 5 structures and recognized 15 others.