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History of the park
Battlefields Park draws its popular name from Abraham Martin, one of
the first lay persons to settle on the heights of Québec. Abraham
Martin never owned or even inhabit the land that bears his name today;
instead he used the area to graze his cattle. The name "Plains of
Abraham" is therefore a popular designation. It was the public that
gave the Plains their name.
In 1908, the National Battlefields Commission (NBC) was given the mandate to celebrate Québec’s Tricentennial and highlight the feats of the two famous battles (in 1759 and 1760). Besides these eminent historical facts, the Plains was the scene of many more historical events. Here is a brief presentation of some of these facts and attractions.
- Cross of sacrifice
- "Ô Canada" national anthem
- Québec Golf Club
- Arsenal laboratory
- "Faubourg de la misère"
- Astronomical observatory
- Lord Grey and the tricentennial
- Gilmour Hill
- Des Braves park and avenue
- Wolfe Monument and well
- Ross Rifle Factory
- Martello Towers
- Joan of Arc Garden
- Municipal reservoir
The sacrificial cross was inaugurated on July 1st, 1924 in honour of the 60,000 Canadians who lost their lives during the first World War. Before it was erected, a first handful of earth from Vimy, the place where Canadians were killed, was deposited under the monument. Every year, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the date marking Armistice Day, a commemorative ceremony is held in front of the cross.
The "Ô Canada" was first performed at the first French-Canadian Catholic Congress on June 24, 1880, Saint Jean-Baptiste Day. (The Grande fête de la Saint Jean-Baptiste of 1880). On that occasion, a contest was planned for the creation of an hymn, someone having suggested that the performance of a great national song should highlight the celebration. It was apparently also sung at the Québec Skating Club on the Plains of Abraham. The "Ô Canada" lyrics were composed by Judge Adolphe-Basile Routhier and the music written by Calixa Lavallée, an organist attached to the church Saint-Patrice-de-Québec, famous for his musical talent.
The "Québec Golf Club" was established in 1874 by a group of affluent people such as military officers, rich wood merchants, prominent notaries, politicians and bank managers. The golf course was located in a place called Cove Fields on the Plains of Abraham. In the beginning, as this was a very hilly site, cows were brought in to "mow " the grass, all except the "greens". The first Francophone to become a member of the club was Sir George Garneau (also the first president of the National Battefields Commission). In 1915, the "Québec Golf Club" had to give up the site of the Plains of Abraham because their lease was up. In 1922, the club bought some land in Boischâtel to make it its permanent location. In 1934, on its 60th anniversary, the club was awarded a royal mention. From then on the club went by the name of “Royal Québec Golf Club”.
An annex of the Québec Cartridge Factory. These were filling and assembling shops where, from 1884 to 1938 (the year the building was torn down), 100 to 200 women workers took turns making cartridges and shells. The factory consisted of wooden shops (a group of shanties) separated by mounds of earth to limit the damage if an explosion occurred. A wooden fence held bystanders at bay. The workshops, located at the foot of the Citadel, looked very much like an Indian fort. This laboratory supplied ammunitions to the soldiers dispatched by the government in the conflict opposing it to the troops led by Louis Riel. To test the quality of the ammunition, a shooting range was established next to the workshop.
“FAUBOURG DE LA MISÈRE” (A POOR NEIGHBOURHOOD)
In 1940-1941, the National Defence Department built some forty buildings to be used as a concentration camp and military hospital. When the war ended the mayor of Québec was authorized to lodge homeless families in the vacated buildings. In 1950 the place called "Faubourg de la misère" was finally pulled down.
From 1852 to 1874, the astronomical observatory gave the exact local time to the sailors of the numerous ships that cast anchor in the harbour. In 1930, radio being new on the scene, the observatory’s primary function shifted from astronomical to meteorological. The data collected was therefore used for forest and road protection, the airlines, river navigation and seaborne shipping. In 1936 the observatory was torn down and the astronomical and meteorological artefacts donated to the Collège des Jésuites.
LORD GREY AND THE TRICENTENNIAL
Albert Henry George Grey seized the idea of a tricentennial celebration to promote his imperialistic views. At the time it was a wonderful occasion to transform a municipal celebration into an imperial event. The festivities had been scheduled for 1909 to coincide with the inauguration of the “pont de Québec”, but the bridge collapsed on April 29, 1907. It was therefore decided to schedule the celebration ahead of time, in 1908. Some 750 tents were put up on the site to accommodate 3200 people. On February 13, 1907 it was suggested to establish a commission to administer the fund. It is to Lord Grey that we owe the magnificent Grey terrace, built in the style of the Middle Ages, offering a beautiful view of the south shore. He had also planned to erect, in the first half of the century, a statue exceeding by 30 cm the height of the Statue of Liberty: "the Angel of Peace".
The place where the British made their way up during the night of September 12 to 13, 1759, to fight the French.
The National Battlefields Commission wanted Des Braves avenue to be the "most beautiful in Québec". The construction work began in 1912. Des Braves avenue is a bridge filled with history and a special walk connecting two parks (Des Braves park and Battlefields Park). The avenue was solidly laid with tarmac and flower beds were put in between street and sidewalk. A high-class thoroughfare such as this needs to display a distinctive architecture. Therefore, because of the street’s residential calling, the only houses that could be built were single-family homes, detached or semi-detached. The lamp posts dotting the avenue are identical to those found on the Plains of Abraham.
As for the park itself, it has a surface area of six hectares. This is where the famous battle of 1760 was fought (pitching Lévis against Murray). On this site one can observe: the monument dedicated to the Braves of 1760, a terrace, two kiosks, a commemorative plaque and interpretation panels. The Des Braves monument, dedicated to the French soldiers killed at the battle of Sainte-Foy on April 28, 1760, is public property. This national monument was executed by Charles Baillargé. Measuring 75 feet in height (22 metres), it consists of a fluted cast-iron column. At the very top stands a ten-foot high statue of Bellone, the Roman war goddess. On the facades of the pedestal one finds: a plaque bearing the name of Lévis, another with the name of Murray and a reproduction of the Dumont mill. On the last facade one can see an inscription dedicated to the Braves. The bones of the soldiers killed in combat and papers are in the monument’s base.
This is where, on September 13, 1759, General
Wolfe, being at death’s door, moistened his burning lips. Wolfe
had been wounded in three places. At the time the well was 15 feet deep.
Today it has been filled in. In 1790, Major Holland, the Surveyor General of Canada, had an astronomic meridian installed in the very spot where Wolfe is believed to have expired. In 1913 the NBC erected a column identical to the one which stood there in 1849.
The buildings in which the Ross Rifle Factory operated for several years occupy the land east of Martello Tower 1. The CCBN took possession of the land after the buildings were torn down in 1931. A famous rifle, the Ross rifle, was built in this factory. It was a high-precision weapon but also very dangerous (it exploded). Established in 1902, the Ross Rifle Factory supplied weapons to Canadian soldiers during the first World War.
MARTELLO TOWERS
Around 1807, due to sharp tensions between England and the United States, engineer Ralph Henry de Bruyères obtained from Governor James Craig the authorization to build four Martello Towers on the heights of the city of Québec. Somewhat less efficient than redoubts, Martello Towers were very fashionable in England at the time, as they were not very costly to build, could be quickly erected and were sturdy enough to impress the enemy. So, from 1808 to 1812, four Martello Towers were erected in Québec. Unfortunately or fortunately, because of the 1812 conflict between British and American forces the towers never demonstrated their efficiency since the Americans never reached Québec.
Quebec City’s Martello Towers constitute military remains unique in Québec. Out of the 196 towers throughout the world, 16 were built in Canada, four in Quebec City. Out of these four, two (No. 1 and No. 2) are located on the Plains, while the third (No. 4) is found in the faubourg Saint-Jean-Baptiste.
The Martello Towers have been classified (Tower 1) or recognized (Towers 2 and 4) as historic monuments. Martello Tower 3 was pulled down in 1905 to make way for a new wing of the Jeffery Hale Hospital, which was in that location at the time. Considering their advanced state of deterioration, the other Martello Towers were restored in 1992.
Laid out by Louis Perron. Of rectangular shape and set slightly below ground, it is referred to as the "sunken garden", successfully associating the geometric shape of French style gardens with the lush, colourful vegetation of English borders. It is composed almost exclusively of perennials with annuals and bulbs, hedged with shrubs and a row of splendid American elms. Every element is carefully selected to help maintain the garden’s appeal from May through October.
The reservoir cost $516,193 to build between 1931 and 1933; today its cost would be $15 million. It was constructed as a means of counteracting the effects of the financial crisis. Its original function was to supply the Champlain and Limoilou neighbourhoods with water. The water was changed every 3 days. It currently supplies the lower part of Old Québec, the Cap-Blanc and the Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Saint-Sauveur neighbourhoods. It can be used in a case of major fire. In an emergency the reservoir could supply the entire city for 24 hours. The water need not be pumped since the reservoir is located on Québec’s highest ground.
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