Written by Delia Oltean –
The Hurtubise family’s farmland, until 1839, remained intact. Although the family, over time, acquired other lands elsewhere on the present Island of Montreal, the land that Louis Hurtubise had originally purchased in 1699 remained unchanged. It was in 1839, 140 years after Louis acquired the land that the first change in the division of the land occurred.
In the manner of the last generations of Hurtubise, Antoine-Isaïe and Benjamin-Dominique took over the farm that they will cultivate together. However, the two brothers decided to depart from tradition and divide the land into two portions that they will continue to cultivate individually. It is Antoine-Isaïe who will obtain the portion on which the Hurtubise House is located. The Hurtubise family, by this decision, will mark a long series of other actions of the same type.
Marie-Claire Laurent, Antoine-Isaïe’s first wife, unfortunately died in 1852 leaving her husband a widower. The latter remarried to Adélaïde Hudon the same year. His new wife is the sister of Ephrem Hudon who will become very close to the family and an important actor in the parcelling of the property.
In 1846, Antoine-Isaïe sold part of his land to an English bookseller and publisher named Hugh Ramsay for the sum of £75. This sale inspired Antoine-Isaïe to sell another part of his property to his brother-in-law, Ephrem Hudon. This sale was much more important, corresponding to 27.4 acres, that is to say the part of the farm that corresponds to the bottom of the Côte-Saint-Antoine Road. The sale is so important that the Hurtubise family has no longer enough space to continue their agricultural activity. This sale clearly improved the financial situation of the family who can afford to move towards professions requiring more education.
The large portion of land that Éphrem Hudon acquired was part of the modification of the rural landscape of Côte Saint-Antoine into a new neighbourhood with multiple residences for wealthy English-speaking Montrealers. Slowly, the City of Westmount was created, and from 1895 onwards, it was called the City of Westmount.
When Antoine-Isaïe died in 1878, his son Isaïe hired a land surveyor a year later to draw up a subdivision plan for the remaining part of the farm. Despite this, Isaïe never developed his idea of selling: it would be the next generation that would sell the remaining lots surrounding the Maison Hurtubise.
Today, the Hurtubise House, along with its grounds, is a very small portion of the land originally acquired by Louis Hurtubise. During a memorial garden project in 2017, a planter on the side of the house represented the difference in proportions between the current land (a small square portion raised from the rest of the planter) and the original land (the entire rectangular planter).
Sources:
- Ville de Westmount. (2021). Histoire. Ville de Westmount. https://westmount.org/la-ville/histoire-2/#1443015378855-6cb80bc7-976b
- Stewart, A. et Robichaud, L. (2001). Étude patrimoniale de la maison des Hurtubise. Institut d’histoire de l’Amérique française.