Saint Helen's Island

Coordinates: 45°31′04″N 73°32′02″W / 45.51778°N 73.53389°W / 45.51778; -73.53389
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Saint Helena.

Saint Helen's Island
Native name:
Île Sainte-Hélène
Saint Lawrence River
Coordinates45°31′04″N 73°32′02″W / 45.51778°N 73.53389°W / 45.51778; -73.53389
ArchipelagoHochelaga Archipelago
Administration
Canada
ProvinceQuebec
CityMontreal
BoroughVille-Marie
Demographics
PopulationUninhabited

Saint Helen's Island (

Parc des Îles
).

It was named in 1611 by

Longueuil from 1665 until 1818, when it was purchased by the British government. A fort (Saint Helen Island Fort), powderhouse and blockhouse were built on the island as defences for the city, in consequence of the War of 1812
.

History

Painting, Montreal from St. Helen's Island by George Heriot, about 1801

In 1838 plans were in place by the British Ordnance Department to establish an observatory, but it was moved to Toronto instead.[1]

The newly formed Canadian government acquired the island in 1870; it was converted into a public park in 1874. The public used it as a beach and swam in the river.[2]

In the 1940s, during

prisoners of war (POWs) were sorted and classified into categories including their nationality and civilian or military status. In this camp, POWs were mostly of Italian and German nationality.[4]
Also, prisoners were forced into hard labour which included farming and lumbering the land. By 1944 the camp would be closed and shortly afterwards destroyed because of an internal report on the treatment of prisoners.

The archipelago of which Saint Helen's Island is a part was chosen as the site of

Montreal metro. The nearby island, Notre Dame Island
, was built from scratch.

After Expo 67, the site continued to be used as a fairground, now under the name

Man and His World
or Terre des Hommes. Most of the expo installations were dismantled and the island was returned to parkland.

Visitor attractions

Several important attractions are found on the island, including the

Osheaga music festival. As of 2022, it will be the home of Lasso Montreal, a brand new country music themed festival that was originally intended to debut in 2020 but was postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Montreal.[5][6][7][8]

During the summer season, on Sundays, electronic music fans can enjoy live DJs during the Piknic Elektronic event.[9]

Transportation

The island can be accessed by public transit, by car, by bicycle or by foot. The

Jean-Drapeau
station.

Gallery

See also

  • List of islands of Quebec

Notes

  1. Bibcode:1940JRASC..34..308T
    .
  2. ^ "Montréal et ses plages: retour vers le futur" [Montreal and its beaches: Back to the future]. journalmetro.com (in French). 31 December 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  3. List of POW camps in Canada
    .
  4. ISBN 978-2-89448-021-2
    .
  5. ^ "LASSO FESTIVAL POSTPONED TO SUMMER 2021". Sound Check Entertainment. 2020-06-11. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  6. ^ "Osheaga, ÎLESONIQ and Lasso 2021 are cancelled". Cult MTL. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  7. ^ Communications, LASSO |. "LASSO MONTREAL TO KICK OFF 1st EDITION WITH COUNTRY MUSIC'S BEST AND BRIGHTEST". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  8. ^ "Lasso Montréal – Festival de musique country". www.lassomontreal.com. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  9. ^ "Picknic Électonik Montéal". piknicelelectronik.com. Retrieved 21 February 2020.

Sources

  • Young, Richard (1980), Blockhouses in Canada, 1749–1841: a Comparative Report and Catalogue., Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History, Canadian Historic Site

External links

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