Cantley 1889 Articles

The Farmlands of Alonzo Wright and Les Pères du Saint Esprit

Hubert McClelland

Today’s Collège Saint-Alexandre overlooks the Alonzo Wright Bridge and rue Saint Louis. Until the 1960s, this area was within the boundaries of Cantley.

Its original landowner was Alonzo Wright (1821-1894). He was grandson of Philemon Wright, the first to colonize Hull and introduce lumbering to the Outaouais. Alonzo was a lumberman, militia officer and politician (1863 to 1891) but what he loved most was farming. From the 1860s, he owned over 2000 acres of land which extended from just above today’s Avenue Gatineau (Desjardins Creek) extending north along chemin Saint Louis to chemin Saint Denis. He enjoyed life as a gentleman farmer raising sheep, cattle and pure-bred horses. He provided employment for Cantley farmers. Alonzo Wright was so highly respected he was nicknamed “King of the Gatineau” by everyone from local farmers to Sir John A. MacDonald who addressed his letters to him as “My dear King ...”

Les Pères du Saint Esprit Spiritains had been struggling since 1759 to establish a seminary in Canada. They left France to escape laws forbidding teaching by religious congregations. On January 21, 1905, they purchased Alonzo Wright’s farmland estate. The 1905 federal charter named this “The Agricultural and Industrial Corporation of the Missionaries of the Holy Ghost.” Les Pères du Saint Esprit had plans to establish an agricultural school for French immigrants but failed to receive approval from Cantley or attract enough students. In 1912 the buildings became their seminary and classical college. They continued to farm the surrounding lands until 1967 when today’s Collège Saint- Alexandre secondary school was etablished.

Religious institutions, including the 2000 acre farmland owned by Les Pères du Saint Esprit, were exempt from paying taxes in Quebec. Cantley taxpayers were unhappy about this lost revenue. Yet, some farmers were grateful for the farm because of an invaluable A. I. (artificial insemination) service offered there by The Eastern Ontario Cattle Breeding Association. The association’s A.I. technician travelled to this farm from Ontario to inseminate its cows when they were in heat.

The Holstein herd belonging to Les Pères du Saint Esprit was on “record of production” or R.O.P. This meant that daily milk production was recorded for each purebred Holstein cow daily for each lactation of her life as a dairy cow. These R.O.P. results provided proof of the cow’s genetic value for producing milk and butter fat. The production records of its Holstein cows were important in determining the breeding value of new offspring from the bulls available through A. I. service. The farm began using A. I. in the late 1940s when this service began in eastern Ontario.

My first personal experience with Les Pères du Saint Esprit farm was in1950 when my father, Trevellyn McClelland, began using artifical insemination for his Holstein cattle herd. At that time, my father had a frightening experience with his own purebred Holstein bull. For his own safety he decided to get rid of the bull and use the A. I. service available to the herd belonging to Les Peres du Saint Ésprit. We were grateful for the Cattle Breeding’s service and to Les Pères du Saint Esprit.

The farmlands of Les Pères du Saint Esprit also included a piggery, a popular sugar bush and an extensive vineyard. Every autumn, the grapevines were covered with a layer of sand. To prevent winter overkill, the Fathers enlisted the student body to cut masses of coniferous branches to place on top of the vines. In spring the students removed the branches.

The main farm buildings in the large field south of Collège Saint-Alexandre were demolished shortly after 1967 when the land was sold for a housing development by the college. Today’s street names honour Les Pères d’Esprit Spiritains and their farming history.