The Maison de la Petite Ferme at Cap Tourmente

The Cap Tourmente Farm by Francis Back Canadian Museum of Civilization, image number S96-25076

In 1992, the Federal Heritage Building Review Office (FHBRO) designated as federal heritage buildings two homes dating from French colonial times located in the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area: the Maison de la Petite Ferme (Little Farm) (classified) and the Maison des Français (French People’s House) (recognized).

This very site had an Aboriginal presence extending over two millennia. In 1626, Champlain established a farm to supply Québec City. In 1664 the property came under the control of the Séminaire de Québec (recognized by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada in 1929). It was used for farming continuously for 300 years until it was acquired by the Canadian Parks Service in 1969.

The Maison de la Petite Ferme, at the edge of the park, is a classified federal heritage building; this is the FHBRO’s highest level of designation. It was built in the late 17th or early 18th century. Its layout, rubble masonry walls and gable roof are in the original style of construction, but show the scars left when British troops set fire to the building in 1759. It was subsequently rebuilt, and the rear wing is a 19th-century addition. Apart from its architectural qualities, the Petite Ferme is associated with the development of farming techniques and was designated for its environmental value since the site is recognized as the habitat of the world’s only population of Greater Snow Geese.

The second building, called the Maison des Français, dates from around 1750. This is a small, simple, one-and-a-half-storey home with few windows and a sloping roof. It is in French colonial style and adds a human element to a natural site of great beauty.