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This is the story of two small rural communities' seven-year effort to prevent the loss of a part of Canada's architectural heritage: two century-old French-Canadian village churches in South-western Ontario.
The two communities, Saint-Joachim and Pointe-aux-Roches (also known as Stoney Point), are located in South Western Ontario, some 50km (30 miles) from Windsor-Detroit.
What gives special significance to this struggle is that the two villages are part of a regional French-Canadian community that traces its roots to 1701, when Antoine Laumet, Sieur de Lamothe-Cadillac established Fort Pontchartrain du détroit, now called simply, Detroit.
The tri-centenial presence of French-speaking Canadians in this part of Canada, hundreds of kilometres from Québec, is a living reminder of an important part of Canada's history, when the initial colony called New France extended its territorial claims from the Saint-Lawrence to the Rockies, with a deep southern thrust along the Mississippi and its tributaries.
Click here for an overview of the history of the regional French settlements. The information is an extract from a French-language book. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to translate material linked to this site but we think it best to make everything available to all visitors no matter whether they choose the English or French version of this site.
The LESSONS LEARNED page provides useful information for persons who are interest or engaged in heritage conservation efforts in their regions:
