Out of the eight colonists called Argoulets, not many of them remained on Verdun territory. Most of them moved to neighbouring villages, including Lachine. Among those who stayed, one of them never left côte des Argoulets: Étienne Campeau.
The son of Léonard Campeau and Françoise Mauger, Étienne Campeau was said to be born in 1635 in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in Le Limousin, which is the Département de la Corrèze today, in the south of France. He arrived in New France in the early 1660s and in 1663, his name appeared in Ville-Marie's archives when, along with several Montréalistes (the first inhabitants of Montréal), he enlisted in the Sainte-Famille militia.
in 1663, he was hired along with François LeBer to clear the LeMoyne family's land, which was later transferred to Marguerite Bourgeoys. Today, this land corresponds to the site of Maison Saint-Gabriel. It is probably at this location that he met Catherine Paulo, his future wife.
Catherine Paulo was one of the first 36 Filles du Roy (The King's Wards: orphaned girls sent by the King of France to take husbands here and populate the colony) to disembark in Montréal. Their marriage took place on November 13, 1663. Together, they had 15 children.
In 1665, at the request of Maisonneuve, the couple settled in côte des Argoulets to create a defensive outpost. In return, they were granted a plot of land measuring two arpents along the river by 15 arpents in depth. They were among the first inhabitants of Verdun. Étienne Campeau died in 1692.
