TopDeclared heritage site (Québec)Site patrimonial du Vieux-TerrebonnePhoto: Pierre Bona · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Maison Mathieu · Photo: Cantons-de-l'Est · CC BY-SA 4.07historic places on the registers
History of Terrebonne · Canada’s heritage registers
Maison Bélisle, from 1759, is Terrebonne’s oldest designated place
Inside Terrebonne there are 7 historic places, all of them top designations. Per resident that is more than in 75% of Canadian towns: 0.6 for every 10,000 people. Homes from before 1961 are 5% of the stock, under the 18% of the typical town. For the municipality itself, Wikidata has 1673, which can be an incorporation or a merger rather than a founding.
Historic places
7
0.6 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
7
National Historic Sites, classified federal buildings and Québec’s classements
Oldest building
1759
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
5%
typical town: 18%
In pictures
Photos of all 7 top-tier places in Terrebonne
Two worth a look first: Maison Mathieu and Maison Jean-Baptiste-Simon-Allard. Each of Terrebonne’s designated places has a photo. 4 different photographers shared them on Wikimedia Commons.
Maison Jean-Baptiste-Simon-Allard
Maison Bélisle
Île des Moulins
Maison Joseph-Augé
Roussil House+2See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the place’s page. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Through time
Old pictures of Terrebonne
From before 1950 comes the oldest view of one of its historic places. Open it full screen with a tap.
c. 1940Public domain or CC0, made before 1950, from Wikimedia Commons; old views of places can be drawings, prints or maps of their time. Each credit opens the image’s page.
How old
In Terrebonne, the years before Confederation left the most behind
Each place by the first construction date on its record.
New France before 17601
British North America 1760–18664
After Confederation 1867–19130
Wars and Depression 1914–19450
Since 1946 1946 on0
Before 1867: 5 of the 5 with a date.
The map
Where Terrebonne’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designations400 m from Île des Moulins
4 of 7within 400 m of Île des Moulins, the heart of the town’s history
Names show on hover, and a tap takes you to the place’s page.
The 7, by tier
7 Highest designations
In Québec the record is fuller than elsewhere: beside Parks Canada’s designations, the province’s register lists its classements and every municipal citation.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Highest designations
7 places in Terrebonne with the highest designation
They date from 1759 (Maison Bélisle) to 1830. National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Their designations span 1972 to 2025. Each one opens its own page.
TopClassified heritage building (Québec) · 1759Maison Bélisle844 rue Saint-François-XavierPhoto: Cantons-de-l'Est · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
TopClassified heritage building (Québec) · 1798–1801Maison Joseph-Augé991 rue Saint-Louis¤993 rue Saint-LouisPhoto: Jeangagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
TopClassified heritage building (Québec) · 1807–1835Maison Jean-Baptiste-Simon-Allard4471 chemin Saint-CharlesPhoto: Bulldog 99 00 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
TopClassified heritage building (Québec) · 1812–1833Maison Mathieu3813 chemin Saint-CharlesPhoto: Cantons-de-l'Est · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
TopClassified heritage building (Québec) · 1830Roussil House870 rue Saint-Louis¤872 rue Saint-LouisPhoto: Jeangagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
TopClassified heritage building (Québec)Île des Moulins900 place de l'Île-des-MoulinsPhoto: Jeangagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
What’s designated
More houses than anything else in Terrebonne: 71%
At the head of the list: Site patrimonial du Vieux-Terrebonne and Maison Bélisle.
Houses5
Mills, shops and works1
Other places1
Grouped by what each register says the place is or was; a converted building counts as what it was built for.
Homes by age
New homes stand out in Terrebonne: 7.9% from 2016–21, where most towns have 4.1%
Only 21% of Terrebonne’s homes were built from 1961 to 1980, less than the typical town’s 27%. Homes built from 2001 to 2015 make up 30% of Terrebonne’s, against 15% in the typical town. Terrebonne’s largest group of homes, 36%, went up from 1981 to 2000.
5%
Before 1961
21%
1961–80
36%
1981–2000
30%
2001–15
7.9%
2016–21
TerrebonneTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Born here
Born in Terrebonne before the First World War: 22 lives
The last born is Ruben Charles Laurier, in 1868. François Xavier Matthieu lived longest, to 96, dying in 1914. Joseph Beauchamp comes first, born in 1739. Fame, by Wikipedia: Maria Anna Blondin first, in 12 languages. Only the 20 best known fit the timeline.
Joseph Beauchamp
Charles-Jean-Baptiste Bouc
Michel Klyne
Séraphin Bouc
Étienne Mathieu
Maria Anna Blondin
Norbert Dumas
Léon-Charles Clément
Joseph-Balsora Turgeon
François Xavier Matthieu
Thomas Nicholson Gibbs
William Henry Gibbs
Louis Labrèche-Viger
Louis-Rodrigue Masson
Louis-Olivier Taillon
Alphonse Desjardins
Louis-Joseph Forget
Rodolphe Forget
Léon Adolphe Chauvin
Ruben Charles Laurier
170017501800185019001950
Maria Anna Blondin1809–1890 · Canadian Catholic nun and teacher, blessed
Louis-Olivier Taillon1840–1923 · Canadian politician
Alphonse Desjardins1841–1912 · Former mayor of Montreal, Quebec
Thomas Nicholson Gibbs1821–1883 · Canadian politician
Rodolphe Forget1861–1919 · Canadian politician
Louis-Rodrigue Masson1833–1903 · Canadian politician
Louis-Joseph Forget1853–1911 · Canadian politician
François Xavier Matthieu1818–1914 · American politician
Everyone born in Terrebonne → Born before 1914 (the page’s periods: Confederation to the First World War). Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s Wikipedia article.
Towns its size
Terrebonne has the 3rd most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 108,800 to 142,500 residents, by places on the registers.
Terrebonne7
Just these have more: St. John's and Thunder Bay. The typical town its size has 5. 2 of them have nothing on the registers.
Neighbours
Terrebonne and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrebonne | 126,872 | 7 | 7 | 1759 |
| Mascouche | 56,897 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Saint-François | 15,338 | 2 | 2 | 1722 |
| Bois-des-Filion | 10,666 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Lorraine | 9,721 | 1 | 1 | 1833 |
| Marc-Aurèle-Fortin | 36,220 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Rivière-des-Prairies | 21,852 | 3 | 1 | 1732 |
In brief
Terrebonne in brief
All told, Terrebonne has 7 historic places, 7 with the highest designation; Site patrimonial du Vieux-Terrebonne heads the list. Île des Moulins sits at the heart of it, with 4 of the town’s places of the highest designation within 400 m. Just 2 towns of its size, out of 16, have more historic places. By date, the years before Confederation lead: 4 of 5.
Maria Anna Blondin (1809), Louis-Olivier Taillon (1840) and Alphonse Desjardins (1841) lead its people of the past. Its oldest homes, those from before 1961, are 5% of the total, against 18% in the typical town. The rest is about typical: the list grew between 1972 and 2025.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- People and events. The open directory puts its national historic persons nowhere, so a town shows one only on firm ground: a birth there, matched by name and life years, or a historic place there named for the person whose record says so. Events are left out.
- The tiers. The highest designations are National Historic Sites, Classified Federal Heritage Buildings and Québec’s classements; then come the other federal designations; then provincial and local listings.
- Protection. A place classified or cited under Québec’s law is protected; National Historic Site status alone protects only what the federal government owns.
- The grade. This page gives no grade; history doesn’t count toward a Canadian town’s letter.
- Québec’s register. Québec is the one province whose register is open: classements, declarations and municipal citations, described by the ministry in French.
- The federal register. Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations lists every National Historic Site, federal heritage building, heritage railway station and lighthouse; the Canadian Register of Historic Places adds their statements in English and French.
Questions about Terrebonne’s history
What is the oldest building in Terrebonne?
Maison Bélisle (Classified heritage building (Québec)): the first construction date on its record is 1759.
Which places in Terrebonne have the highest designation?
Site patrimonial du Vieux-Terrebonne, Maison Bélisle, Maison Joseph-Augé, Maison Jean-Baptiste-Simon-Allard, Maison Mathieu and Roussil House, and 1 more.
How old are the homes in Terrebonne?
5% of its homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical Canadian town.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada). Québec register data: Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec, CC BY 4.0.
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec (MCC, Données Québec) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).