Built in the 17th century, Wellington St. was at that time a section of the Chemin du Roy, which connected Ville-Marie to Lachine. Also called the Chemin de la Rivière Saint-Pierre, to which it led, it was merely a small, winding path that served as an extension to Saint-Paul St. in Montréal.
This road was used by the many carters who carried goods for the fur trade and by the people who worked on the farms in Pointe-Saint-Charles. During the 18th century, it became one of the most important streets outside the city and was named Wellington St. in 1817. (Wellington defeated Napoleon I at Waterloo in 1815.) A more recent section was built, at the end of the 19th century, in the village of Verdun. A tramway line was operated on Wellington St. as of 1897.
