Built on the estate of René Robert Cavelier de La Salle, purchased by Jean Milot, the Fort of Lachine was located between present-day Avenue Bélanger and Avenue Strathyre, along Boulevard LaSalle, in the Highlands district. Milot had a windmill built there, which could be used as a redoubt in case of Indian attacks, as well as a manor and a forge, which also contained a bread oven.
In 1680, with the appointment of parish priest Pierre Rémy, these first buildings became Fort Rémy, surrounded by a wooden fence. Financial assistance from parish priest Rémy facilitated the acquisition of lands for the fabric, within the construction of Saints-Anges de Lachine church, the convent and the presbytery. And that is how the village of Lachine was born, protected by a garrison. Fort Rémy, in fact, sheltered a trading post, while protecting the inhabitants against attacks, particularly in 1689, at the time of the "Lachine massacre". However, the signing of the Great Peace Treaty of Montreal in 1701 abolished the need to maintain a fortified site at that location.
