This watercolour by the British artist Cockburn illustrates the flour mill, a central feature of the new Jesuit mission at Jeune-Lorette. This very normal-looking mill would have been built in 1731, yet the Huron-Wendats moved from Lorette to Jeune-Lorette in 1697. A second mill, a sawmill, was added to the same site in 1749.

1807 - 1840

Indigenous Peoples in Québec City at the turn of the 19th century

As since time immemorial, Indigenous nations lived in and around Québec City at the turn of the 19th century. Among them were the Huron-Wendats, who lived just outside Québec City in a village called Jeune-Lorette. It is better known today as Wendake. Indigenous people gathered in nearby wooded areas to hunt or fish, or came into town to sell various products. Other nations, such as the Maliseet and Abenaki, also frequented the peripheral region south of the St. Lawrence River. No wonder that the artists of the time illustrated many Indigenous people in their works!

Mill in the Indigenous village of Jeune-Lorette

James Pattison Cockburn This watercolour by the British artist Cockburn illustrates the flour mill, a central feature of the new Jesuit mission at Jeune-Lorette. This very normal-looking mill would have been built in 1731, yet the Huron-Wendats moved from Lorette to Jeune-Lorette in 1697. A second mill, a sawmill, was added to the same site in 1749.

Chronoscope What do you notice about the mill shown here? (unilingual French for a limited time)

Depicted period: 1829

Source: Library and Archives Canada Document in the public domain (free of copyright) - Acc. No. 1934-404 - Date: 1829

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