Montreal History Links
General Montreal History
History of Montreal - Chronology - a timeline of important dates in Montreal history
A more detailed (but not up to date) Montreal Timeline
Montreal History - Wikipedia Article
Mayors of Montreal - a list of dates and names; for more info on particular names, try the search engines...
Montreal's 360th Anniversary: a Celebratory Website from Vehicule Press
Histoire du Montréal, 1640-1672 - The earliest history of Montreal, by seventeenth century contemporary Dollier de Casson, superior of the Sulpician Seminary.
Montreal Articles - includes a few history-related articles about Montreal
Place Publique - This bi-monthly journal, a product of Montreal's Urban Ecology Centre, often includes articles of historic interest
Montréal Clic - many articles on historical themes (en français)
Heritage Montreal - "an independent, nonprofit, private organization dedicated to the preservation of Montreal's urban, architectural, landscape and social heritage"
Montréalités - extensive photos and historical notes on Montreal (en français)
Montreal: seduisante ou provocante ? - includes a timeline plus some good quiz questions
Notable Montrealers - Biographies of prominent anglo-Montrealers, mostly from the 19th century.
Montreal: Where I was born in 1927 - various Montreal themes, some told in the form of personal reminiscences (check out especially the 'iceman' and 'games' sections) , plus historic photos (especially of old public transport vehicles)
la Société historique et culturelle du Marigot- "Fondée à Longueuil en 1978, la Société historique et culturelle du Marigot est une organisation à but non lucratif qui s'est donné comme mission la conservation et la valorisation du patrimoine bâti et naturel et la diffusion de l'histoire locale et régionale...."
Historic Photos of Montreal
Massicotte Albums - Édouard-Zotique Massicotte was one of the first people to document the evolution of Montreal through photographs and illustrations. His albums contain over 6,000 pictures of Montreal as it existed from 1870-1920
Images of Montréal, Canadian Metropolis 1872-1898
City of Montreal Photo Archives - a wonderful selection from the municipal archives
301 Montreal Photographs: 1920-1960 - subdivided into four themes: buildings, places, personalities, and municipal services. Great photos, but poorly scanned...
Canadian Souvenir View Albums - many photos of Montreal, mostly early 20th century
History of Specific Areas in Montreal
History of Old Montreal - see also Guided Tour of Old Montreal and Street by street history of old Montreal
Griffintown - chronology, photos, map, historical sketch... plus info on the documentary The Ghosts of Griffintown.
Pôle des Rapides - comprehensive site, with self-guided, mapped tours, mostly around the area of the Lachine Canal (Lachine, Lasalle, Verdun...)
Point St. Charles Historical Society - photos and historical sketches (en français); see also Point St. Charles Architecture - includes nice panoramic photos; and Kill Me I'm Irish - historical essay by David Fennario about the Great Famine of 1847 and the memorial to it in Verdun
History of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve - well-researched historical overview of the area presented in the form of a slideshow
History of Lasalle - also take a look at the historical sketch of the Fleming Mill, which is a unique heritage site in Lasalle.
History of Lachine See also: Labourers' struggle ended in bloodshed (June 14, 2003 / The Gazette) - article about the 1843 strike at the Lachine Canal which ended with between 8 and 20 workers killed. "To this day it remains the most devastating slaughter of striking workers in Canadian history...."
St. Henri - includes historical sketch, photos, and more (en français). See also Société historique de Saint-Henri
Westmount Historical Association - includes a general historical sketch, timelines, archives, etc.
Côte-des-Neiges au fil du temps - very comprehensive... includes many period photos (en français)
L'histoire du Sault-au-Récollet (en français); Ahuntsic-Cartierville (pdf format), and Montreal North (pdf format).
Saint Laurent - A few chapters in history - Very comprehensive information on Ville (or presently 'borough') Saint Laurent , although strangely there is no overall index to take stock of all the pages within the site.
History of Town of Mount Royal
Historical sketch of Outremont (en français) - Short, but has some interesting details (e.g. after the founding of Outremont, a pay toll station was set up on Côte-Sainte-Catherine at the entrance to the municipality to ensure that those on their country estates might not be disturbed by the unwashed masses...).
Port of Montreal - includes some great maps. For history of the port, go to "about the port" and then click on "a trip through time"....
Histoire de Laval (l'Île Jésus)
Société d'histoire des Mille-Îles - "Mettre en valeur toutes les ressources relevant du patrimoine et de l’histoire sur le territoire de l’ancienne seigneurie de Blainville, soit les municipalités de Blainville, Sainte-Thérèse, Boisbriand, Rosemère, Lorraine, Bois-des-Filion, Saint-Janvier, Saint-Augustin et Sainte-Monique...."
Montreal History by Theme
Montreal Public Markets - impressive site devoted to Montreal markets (Atwater, Jean-Talon, Maisonneuve, and many smaller markets), including some well-researched historical sections. Make sure also to check out: History of Bonsecours Market
Montreal Ghosts - aside from the well-known story of Mary Gallagher, the information here is pretty sparse. Nevertheless it could serve as a launching point for a fascinating bit of research.... (see also the 'cemetaries' section below)
History of Montreal Movie Theatres
Industrial Architecture of Montreal - includes separate sections on "working class neighborhoods", "living conditions", "St. Henri", "Griffintown", and "Point St. Charles". Also make sure to investigate the Industrial Architecture Search Engine which is the portal to a large database of info and photos of the major industrial installations of historic Montreal
History of RCA factory on Lenoir Street (in St. Henry). See also: Musée des ondes Emile Berliner
Marie-Joseph Angélique - a site documenting instances of slavery in Montreal; Book vindicates hanged slave (Nov. 3, 2004 / Gazette); Plaque marks black slave's life (Feb. 25, 2004 / Gazette)
Catholic Schools - scrolll down to the 'Quebec' section to read about the history of Catholic schools in the province (and in Montreal)
Two books on Montreal history - reviews of Bill Weintraub's City Unique: Montreal Days and Nights in the1940's and '50's and Dorothy Williams' The Road to Now: A History of the Blacks in Montreal.
Montreal Fire Stations. Also see Brief History of the Montreal Fire Department
Montreal Auxiliary Firemen - includes some nice historic photos
Pompiers de Montréal: D'hier à Aujourd'hui - Very thorough research here in a timeline format (check out the stories of winter fires being extinguished in the 19th century with barrages of snowballs!), including an incredible collection of photos.
Montreal Hospitals. See also, History of the Montreal General Hospital
Timeline History of Concordia University
Architectural History of McGill University - over the years, McGill has absorbed many of the most prestigious private residences in Montreal (see, for example, the section devoted to the Square Mile Mansions)
Archeological Sites on the Island of Montreal
Conspiracies in Montreal - John Wilkes Booth, James Earl Ray, Lee Harvey Oswald... each has a Montreal connection...
Des bijoux architecturaux à protéger pour la postérité
Famous Architects who have contributed to the Montreal Landscape:
Edward and William Maxwell; Les frères Maxwell
Bruce Price (see also: Windsor Station; Royal Victoria College; Viger Station)
Marius Dufresne - see: Château Dufresne 1; Château Dufresne 2; Fire Station No. 1; Maisonneuve Public Bath
Montreal Transit
History of Montreal Transit Systems
Montreal Tramways - photos of Montreal tramway cars
Quebec Trains - photos of trains and metro cars
Montreal by Metro, a terrific site which includes lots of historical info and photos on the metro system
Montreal Media
Newspaper born in time of turmoil (June 3, 2003 / The Gazette); See also: News of the Day (June 3, 2003 / The Gazette)
Montreal Clubs and Bars
Joe Beef Tavern (Charles McKiernan, dit Joe Beef, 1835-1889); see also: Montreal's Saloon Santa-Claus
Len Dobbin's Montreal Jazz website
Article on history of Montreal cabarets and taverns
Bio of Lili St. Cyr (Montreal's most famous stripper)
Montreal Bridges
Montreal Bridges - info on Champlain, Mercier, Jacque Cartier bridges and also on the Champlain Ice Control structure
Champlain Bridge Ice Control Structure (Estacade)
Victoria Bridge lived through several grand openings (Dec. 1, 2002 / The Gazette)
Montreal Musicians
Willie Eckstein, pianist and composer (1888-1963)
Mimi Blais - "Pianist Mimi Blais from Montreal, Québec, Canada received several nicknames during her career: The female Victor Borge, The Céline Dion of the keyboard, The French Canadian Liberacette… but the one she’s proud to wear since 1990 is: The New Queen Of Ragtime...."
Oscar Peterson: A Jazz Sensation - "acclaimed by many critics as the greatest living pianist"; Oscar Peterson - excerpt from Swinging in Paradise: History of Jazz in Montreal. Copyright 1988, 1989, John Gilmore
Geoff Lapp Trio - "... what makes Montreal such a great city to love jazz in" Montreal Gazette
Montreal Artists
Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Côté (1869-1937)
A.Y. Jackson (1882-1974); see also: A.Y. Jackson - 'Group of Seven' painter from Montreal
Marc-Aurèle Fortin (1888-1970)
Guido Nincheri (1885-1973) - one of the world's great masters of stained glass art, Nincheri decorated many of Montreal's churches as well as parts of the Dufresne brothers' mansion. See also: Did famed Nincheri create mural? (July 15, 2003 / The Gazette) - article which includes timeline of Guido Nincheri's life.
Edwin Holgate (1892-1977) - another 'Group of Seven' painter from Montreal
Prudence Heward (1896-1947) - of the 'Beaver Hall Group'
Lilias Torrance Newton (1896-1980)
Jacques de Tonnancour (1917-??)
Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923-2002) - one of the signatories of the famous Refus Global
History of Montreal Churches and Cemeteries
Montreal's Religious Heritage - Documentation and Photographs of 31 Montreal Churches and Monuments
Montreal Churches - Photo Gallery - photos and history of some of the major churches
Churches of Montreal - historical sketches of four of Montreal's best known churches
List of Montreal's Protestant Churches
Montreal's Downtown Cemeteries - by Edgar Andrew Collard
Mount Royal Cemetary - short historical commentary, and biographical sketches of some of the better-known personalities who lie there
Find a Grave: Montreal - list of famous people buried in Montreal and where they are 'resting'.
Montreal: Major Historic Events
History of Montreal - Chronology - a timeline of important dates in Montreal history
American General Richard Montgomery Captures Montreal - November 13, 1775 ; L'Invasion Américaine
Rebellion of Lower Canada - there are many sites devoted to this topic (Rebellion; Les Patriotes de 1837-38; etc.). The main episodes of the Patriotes Rebellion, as it is usually called in English history books, took place near Montreal, and Montreal itself was under martial law during most of this period. It is worth noting that the Rebellion occurred shortly after Montreal's short-lived municipal autonomy was retracted by the governor general. Read about: Jacques Viger, the first mayor of Montreal, for more information....
Labourers' struggle ended in bloodshed (June 14, 2003 / The Gazette) - article about the 1843 strike at the Lachine Canal which ended with between 8 and 20 workers killed. "To this day it remains the most devastating slaughter of striking workers in Canadian history...."
Kill Me I'm Irish - historical essay by David Fennario about the Great Famine of 1847 and the memorial to it in Verdun
The Great Fire of Montreal (1852) (July 12, 2003 / The Gazette)
Charles De Gaulle's 1967 Speech, in which he spoke the famous words, "Vive le Quebec libre!" from the balcony of Montreal City Hall (see photo here)
The Building of Expo 67 - and for more on Expo, see: Expo 67 - Montreal World's Fair; History of Parc Jean Drapeau
The Sir George Williams Computer Riot - in 1969, black students at Sir George Williams University (which later became part of Concordia University) resorted to direct action after university administrators continued to drag their feet regarding discrimination issues. Rosie Douglas, who later became the Prime Minister of Domica, spent two years in prison for his part in the protests, and the article "From Protestor to Prime Minister " explains how, in spite of the price paid, Douglas felt that an important step forward had been achieved.
Black October - the 1970 October crisis unfolded mainly in Montreal.
The Montreal Olympics - also see: 1976 Olympics
1998 Ice Storm - See also: Ice Storm 98
Montreal Sports History
The 'Official' Montreal Canadians Website
The Montreal Maroons - Stanley Cup winners in 1926 and 1935
Montreal Shamrocks - the Shamrocks were Stanley Cup champions in the years 1899 and 1900
Famous Stanley Cup Incidents... - this site includes a few notes on some of the Montreal teams which existed prior to the formation of the NHL in 1917, including the Montreal Victorias, the Montreal Wanderers, the Montreal AAA, and the Montreal Shamrocks, all of which won multiple Stanley Cups (see: Stanley Cup Champions for a comprehensive list plus a bit of info on each winning team)
Montreal Expos: History and Montreal Expos: Timeline - these are from the 'official' site
Baseball melting away in Montreal - article focussing on the history of the Montreal Expos which extends the story closer to the present
The Montreal Royals - review of a book about the Montreal Royals, a team which played an important role in helping blacks to break the colour barrier by hiring Jackie Robinson (who went on to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, thus becoming the first black player to play in the major leagues).
Montreal Museums
Montreal Museums - linked descriptions to over 60 museums in the Montreal area
Maison Saint-Gabriel - built as a farm and school to receive the 'filles du Roy" in 1688, and now a museum with exhibitions related to settler life in Montreal.
McCord Museum - in particular, check out "Simply Montréal: Glimpses of a Unique City", the permanent exhibition at the McCord Museum
Fort de l'Ile Sainte-Helene ; Musée Stewart à Fort de l'Ile Sainte-Helene
Montreal History Museums - 15 museums are profiled at this site
Montreal Tours
Osler's Montreal - a virtual tour of Montreal as it existed in the time of physician William Osler (late 1800's). (if you are thinking of taking the same tour today, be aware that most of the buildings in the virtual version no longer exist!)
Playwright David Fennario's walking tour of Old Montreal looks at history from the bottom up
Montreal Maps
Montreal Transit System - includes maps of bus and metro routes
Bibliothèqe Nationale Maps - includes many incredible old maps of Montreal