This photo, one of the oldest of Maison Saint-Gabriel, was taken from the shore of the St. Lawrence River. It clearly illustrates the evolution of the river’s shoreline, facing Île Saint-Paul, now called Île-des-Sœurs.
From the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century, the farm surrounding what is now Maison Saint-Gabriel went by the name “Pointe-Saint-Charles” or “the Point” or even “de la Congrégation”. It was only in about 1930 that it became known as Ferme Saint-Gabriel. With that name, the nuns wanted to perpetuate the memory of the farm operated by the Sulpicians, called Ferme Saint-Gabriel; this land was purchased by the industries that were established along the Lachine Canal.
The Sulpicians’ Ferme Saint-Gabriel was named to honour the memory of two Sulpicians, Ganbriel Souart (1611-1691), the first priest of Montréal, and Gabriel de Queylus (1612-1677) the first superior of the Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice in Montréal.