Association des plus beaux villages du Québec

A network of authentic heritage villages, located in remarkable landscapes

120, rue Saint-Joseph,

Deschambault-Grondines,

(Québec)

418-652-8150

villages@videotron.ca

Français

An English garden on the shores of Lake of Two Mountains

To be completed

History of our village

Despite a population of around 5000, Hudson has been able to preserve a village atmosphere and appearance. A majority anglophone enclave (65% in 2001) in this part of agricultural Montérégie, Hudson results from the 1969 merger of the villages of Hudson, Hudson Heights and Como.

In 1702, the king of France granted the seigneury of Vaudreuil to Philippe de Rigaud, who gave his name to the neighboring village of Hudson. In 1763, at the time of the English conquest, Hudson was known by the name of Cavagnal. At the beginning of the 1800s, the seigneur, Chartier de Lotbinière, evicted French colonists for not paying their rent, thereby facilitating the settlement of the first English colonists. They included a group of merchants from Moose Fort on James Bay, who arrived in 1811 by the Ottawa River after a voyage of more than 1000 kilometres!

An effort to integrate is evident in more recent buildings, showing the concern of Hudson residents to conserve their quality of life and their village character. The communities live together here with four churches (two Anglican, one Catholic and one United).

The Como sector (eastern part of the village, near the ferry) was the site of the first glass industry in Canada, and the old general store dating from 1820 (208 Main Road) can still be admired. The Hudson Heights sector (western part of the village) contains the old Mathison school, the oldest building in the village (586 Main Road), which served as a school, court house, post office, church and store!

The Greenwood home, its furnishings and collection of artifacts give a good overview of the home life of Canadians over the past three centuries. A jewel of the property, the Greenwood gardens give visitors an opportunity to admire the extensive lawns and flower beds maintained by the family for more than 100 years. The house remained in the Sabourin family until 1820, when John Mark Crank Delesderniers acquired it as a residence for his son and to open a general store and trading post. In the 1840s, the house also served as the first post office in the area. Several descendants of the Delesderniers family still live in the Hudson area.

At the beginning of August, the Hudson Street Fair and Music Festival enlivens the village. A summer theatre located in the former railway station presents plays and a variety of shows.

Near the community centre, a charming municipal park presents a country scene with its wooded area crossed by a small river, paths leading to lookouts and a beach for swimming in Lake of Two Mountains. A marina shelters a few boats while a small ferry makes it possible to reach Hudson from Oka on the opposite shore of the lake, providing a mini-cruise of a few minutes to prepare the mind for the serenity of the place.

Because Hudson is like the serenity of an English garden that must not be disturbed.