Dorval is brimming with houses and residences that are part of the city’s legacy and history. Click on the names of the different sites to see photos and learn more about their history.
Couvent Notre-Dame du Sacré-Cœur – 1912 (245-249 la Présentation)
Over a century old, this convent is part of Dorval’s religious heritage. The north wing was built in 1912 by the community of the “ Filles de la Sagesse,” who were entrusted with the education of Dorval girls until 1965. The newer wing of the convent has been converted into a reception centre.
Jean-Baptiste Monette House – Circa 1850 (690 Monette) AND Pierre Monet House – Circa 1780 (18 Place Décary)
These two neighboring houses, facing Lake Saint-Louis, were built at two different times on the same land granted to Pierre Monet in 1774. They remained in his descendants’ (the Monette and Décary families) possession for several generations. The ancestral home, built around 1780, is located at 18 Place Décary, but is barely visible from the street. The house at 690 Monette was built around 1850 by Jean-Baptiste Monette. Except for the addition of the garage, it has retained its original appearance, particularly the facade facing the lake.
« Beau Rivage » – 1859 (900 chemin Bord-du-Lac)
The lower part of the current house was built by the Legault dit Deslauriers family in 1859 and subsequently raised, some forty years after they built “Le Manoir” located immediately to the west. The very deep basement houses what could be the remains of a cellar that was part of Fort de La Présentation (XVIIth century). Given that the area in general is the highest in Dorval (more sheltered from flooding), some historians believe that the fort could have been located there. Such forts served as defenses against the Iroquois. The current owners of this magnificent heritage home have carried out extensive renovations with full respect for the architectural envelope and original materials.
« Le Manoir » – Circa 1820 (940 Chemin Bord-du-Lac)
This magnificent stone manor house, aptly named, was built around 1820 by André Legault dit Deslauriers in the heart of what is believed to be the site of the former Fort La Présentation. At one point, it belonged to the Hudson’s Bay Company, which used it as a trading post, and it was also occupied by Lord Strathcona, a senior executive of the Hudson’s Bay Company and one of the builders of the Canadian Pacific Railway. This house has been beautifully restored and maintained.
Molson House– Circa 1889 (960-962 Chemin Bord-du-Lac)
The eastern half (960) of this duplex was the rather modest summer home of Harry Markland Molson, of the brewing family, president of Molson Bank. He spent more time aboard his magnificent yacht Alcyone than at home. From 1903 to 1905, he was mayor of Dorval. He perished in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. The west half (962) of the house belonged to another mayor, Robert Fitzgibbon, in 1896.
Jacques Lepage dit Roy House – Circa 1790 (2 Terrasse Ballantyne)
Located on the shores of Lake Saint-Louis, this beautiful ancestral fieldstone house was built around 1790 when Jacques Lepage dit Roy owned the land. Despite an extension and a garage built in the 1950s, it has retained its typical 18th-century architecture.
Ashburton– 1891 (1070 Chemin Bord-du-Lac)
In 1891, Hartland St. Clair MacDougall (1840-1917) purchased part of the estate belonging to Dosithée Legault dit Deslaurier (which originally stretched from Lake Saint-Louis to north of Dawson Avenue and Roy to Allard Avenues) to build his summer residence, which he named “Ashburton” in honor of his hometown in Great Britain. The property also served as the summer residence of John Wilson McConnell, but was destroyed by fire in 1963 shortly after John Wilson McConnell’s death. The estate was then the site of a large residential development (south of Chemin Bord-du-Lac, across from Windsor Park), and the McConnell Foundation donated part of the land to the City of Dorval in 1969, where Windsor Park is located today.
Jacques Morin House – Circa 1675 (66 Allan Point)
This long whitewashed stone house, the oldest in Dorval, located at the tip of a point with a view overlooking Lake Saint-Louis, is believed to have been built by Jacques Morin shortly after two contiguous plots of land were granted to him in 1674. He was reportedly killed in the Lachine Massacre of 1689 along with his 24-year-old son, and the house was burned down; his descendants later restored it. This remarkable heritage house, with its typical late 17th-century architecture, is believed to have served as a stagecoach relay station in the days of the stagecoach. It was purchased in 1890 by James B. Allan, nephew of shipowner Sir Hugh Allan, who named the estate, which then occupied the entire Allan Point, “The Hermitage.”
Michel Allard House – Circa 1800 (2095 Chemin Bord-du-Lac)
The land on which this house stands was granted in 1674 to André Michel, who is believed to have perished with his family during the Lachine Massacre of 1689. However, the current house, one of six heritage fieldstone houses in Dorval, was not built until around 1800 by the Legault family and was occupied by the Allard family for nearly a century. Its architectural features make it a typical example of early 19th-century rural dwellings.
« Bel-Air » – 1878 / Forest and Stream Club Clubhouse – 1888 (1800 Chemin Bord-du-Lac)
In 1878, Alfred Brown, president of the Grand Trunk Railway, named his stone mansion “Bel-Air.” The mansion, built in typical Victorian style, was flanked on either side by the caretaker’s quarters to the east and stables to the west, which now house the Dorval Museum of History and Heritage. After Mr. Brown’s death in 1886, the property was sold in 1888 to the prestigious Forest and Stream Club, which still occupies it today. The estate is no longer called “Bel-Air,” but the land on which the mansion was built is still known as Brown Point.
« Aqua Vista » – 1865 (2120 Chemin Bord-du-Lac)
This attractive “upright-planked” house, built in 1865 on the shores of Lake St. Louis, was occupied by a number of old Dorval families. Beautifully maintained by its present owners, it has regained its original authenticity and is an example of intelligent architectural conservation.
Carrière House – 1864 (2205 Chemin Bord-du-Lac)
This mansard-style house was originally built in 1864 by large-scale market gardener Dosithée Carrière. After a major renovation, the west wing was added in 1990 in the same style as the original “upright-planked” house. Whitehead Point or Valois Point, south of the road, was once part of the farm which is where the Whitehead family has twice built large and comfortable homes and twice in 90 years has had them destroyed by fire.
Meloche House – Vers 1815 (2 Place Eliott)
This fieldstone house, somewhat hidden behind a garage, is believed to have been built in 1815 by Jean-Baptiste Meloche on land granted to his ancestor François Meloche in 1708, including the three islands opposite and what is now Millennium Park. This part of the property remained in the Meloche family for eight generations until 1929, when the house was sold to Stanley Elliott, who became mayor of Dorval in 1947. The rest of the land had been sold in 1895 to the Royal Montreal Golf Club.
Charles B. Décary House – 1875 (223 Chemin Bord-du-Lac)
This typical brick farmhouse was built in 1875 by Charles Borromée Décary. The farm stretched from the shore of Lake Saint-Louis to Côte de Liesse Road and west to the little Bouchard River, which flows under Chemin Bord-du-Lac. The Décary family, pioneers of Dorval, played a key role in the town’s prosperity. Charles Décary was one of the first aldermen when the village was incorporated in 1892 and became mayor in 1895. Despite the urbanization of the 1950s, the ancestral home has retained its original character.
Jean-Baptiste Décary House – 1846 (375 Chemin Bord-du-Lac)
This former brick farmhouse belonged to the first Décary family to settle in Dorval. It was built in 1846 by Jean-Baptiste Décary. It was inhabited by his son Damase, who had a blacksmith shop across the road where he shoed horses and oxen. Damase’s two daughters, skilled seamstresses, also ran a branch of the Banque d’Hochelaga in this house and, later, the first post office. The house also housed the municipal corporation’s office for a time. After 1925, the house had many occupants.
Lacroix House – Circa 1900 (435 Chemin Bord-du-Lac)
This wooden house dates back to before 1900, having been sold in November of that year. From 1910 onwards, it belonged to Louis Lacroix, the village coachbuilder. His daughter lived there until 1964, after which the house was converted in 1986 into a jewelry store, whose owner has preserved its late 19th-century architecture.
Massie House – Circa 1897 (35 avenue Martin)
A typical village house built around 1897 by Hormisdas Massie, a mason who was a town councillor, and his brother Francis, a carpenter; it included a chicken coop, stable, and shed. Number 38, across the street, bears a slight resemblance.
Lafrance House – 1888 (18 avenue Martin)
Another characteristic village house that has retained its original charm, it was built in 1888 by Joseph Lafrance, a blacksmith. His son Alexandre became the village barber at 465 Chemin du Bord-du-Lac. His daughters were skilled seamstresses who made wedding dresses for the parish.
Paul Picard House « The Anchorage » – 1802 (2 avenue Martin)
This beautiful fieldstone house, typical of early 19th-century rural architecture, is believed to have been built in 1802 by Paul Picard on land granted to his ancestor Antoine Picard in 1732. Hardly visible from the street, this heritage house gave its name to Pointe Picard, where it is located, as well as several of its neighbors, both to the east and west, which were built there later.
« Kilellan » – Circa 1879 (1 avenue Martin)
This large Victorian-style wooden house was built around 1879 on a magnificent plot of land at Pointe Picard as a summer residence by Duncan McEachran, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at McGill University. The property was sold in 1908 to another member of the Décary family, who lived there until his death in 1949. It was then purchased by a prominent architect who designed, among other buildings, St. Mark’s Church.
« L’Ermitage » – Circa 1832 (4 avenue Martin)
This mansard-roofed wooden house located on Pointe Picard could have been built around 1832 and has been very well maintained by its successive owners. In 1900, its owner was Anthony Haig Sims who likely rented it to summer residents. It later belonged to Dr. John McCombe who also owned no. 2 next door.
« Quatre Vents » – 1803 (12 Dahlia)
No traces remain of the old wooden houses built on this strategic site by Jacques Morin (1685), Jean-Baptiste Bouchard Dorval (1691), or Antoine Picard (1732). The first stone house was built in 1803 by Antoine’s son, Jean-Baptiste Picard. Beginning in 1874, it was enlarged by his grandson, Désiré Girouard, a lawyer, historian, federal deputy, first mayor of Dorval in 1892, and Supreme Court judge. What remains of this manor house is now incorporated into the southern part of the modern convent which belonged to the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame, serving as a peaceful residence for retired members of their community for many years.
