“The City of Terrebonne Acquires La Bergeronne Heritage Site After $1.5 Million Investment for Community Development and Preservation”

“We are very proud of this acquisition,” said Mayor Traversy. La Bergeronne is a key place in our heritage. In less than two years, our team has made more progress on this issue than any of its predecessors. First, by granting the villa and its outbuilding a heritage status. Then, by officially becoming the owner of the site. This is an important legacy for our community, for our history and for the development of the sector,” he added, noting in passing that this announcement was appropriate for the 350th anniversary of Terrebonne.

A new vocation that meets the expectations of the environment.

The future vocation of the site meets the concerns of all the stakeholders involved in the file, whether in terms of culture and heritage, the environment and neighborhood life.

In fact, since 2010, a citizens’ committee to safeguard Bergeronne has been set up. This committee has multiplied the steps, in concert with the Société du patrimoine et de l’histoire de Terrebonne, aimed at protecting and enhancing the wooded area and its buildings and giving it a second life with a community character.

Everyone will therefore be happy to learn that the first objective of acquisition is to ensure the preservation of the heritage of the facilities, in particular by enhancing them in the context of the construction of a modern library.

Then, the development of a bike stop could be developed there as part of the Côte de Terrebonne bike path project. Moreover, this acquisition is part of a plan to requalify and enhance this entire sector of the Côte de Terrebonne.

“Collectively, I think we can only welcome this investment,” said neighborhood councilor Claudia Abaunza. Whether in terms of culture, heritage, environment and development, today we are making a concrete gesture in connection with the precious values ​​of Terrebonne, but also with those of the residents of the Grand Ruisseau district.” she concluded.

It should be remembered that the site, with an area of ​​8 4 89 m2, was developed in 1730 as a vast wooded area occupied by a sawmill located along a stream. Several generations of Filion, Limoges, Desjardins, Bastien and Ouimet have lived there. In recent years (1970 – 2010), the sculptor Germain Bergeron lived in the residence, set up a large workshop there and used the stone outbuilding as a forge to which he gave the name “la Bergeronne”, an appellation which now designates the whole of the property[1].

[1] Sources: SHRT, BG Inc, Radio Canada, Bergeronne Safeguard Committee