GRIFFINTOWN
LOCATION
Griffintown was located in Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada. It was once a working-class neighbourhood stretching as far north as Notre-Dame street and bounded on the east by McGill street and on the west by Guy.

NOTE: "Griffintown" was a nineteenth century colloquial name and is not commonly used in the present day. The actual name of the area is Saint Ann's Ward.
HISTORY
17th Century
The 'Faubourg des Recollets' (earliest name of Griffintown) is named after Les Franciscains des Recollets, the order of French missionaries who were the first to settle Canada. The area later becomes known as the 'Nazareth Fief'.

1654: Maisonneuve grants 112 arpents of land to Jeanne Mance, foundress of the Order of Hôtel-Dieu. She and her nuns convert the property to a farm known as 'Le Grange des Pauvres', using the proceeds of food sales to support the Hôtel-Dieu hospital.

1698: Pierre Leber builds a chapel dedicated to St. Anne near the south end of Murray Street. The area then becomes known also as 'Le Quartier St.Anne'. The area is such a popular place for drunkenness and revelry that the clergy are forced to restrict the sale of liquor around the chapel.

18th Century
1760: The British, under General Geoffrey Amherst, march from Lachine through Nazareth Fief, through the Recollet Gate and into the walled city of Montreal. The French rule of Montreal ends.

1791: Thomas McCord signs a 99-year lease of the Nazareth Fief from the Hôtel-Dieu nuns. At the time, there is already talk of building the Lachine Canal; a prospect which would make this parcel of agricultural land very valuable for future subdivision.

1796: While McCord is in England, Patrick Langan (his business associate) fraudulently sells the lease to Mary Griffin.

19th Century
1800: The population of Montreal reaches 9,000.

1804: Mrs. Griffin plans a subdivision (which comes to be known as Griffintown) where lots will be rented - with the revenue shared by herself and the nuns.

1805: Thomas McCord returns to Montreal. After a series of lengthy court actions, McCord eventually succeeds in retrieving the land, but by that time the name of Mary Griffin has become synonymous with the parcel of land.

1809: Canada's first steamboat, Accomodation, sails on the Saint Lawrence River from Montreal to Quebec City.

1817: Irish Catholic families noted in Montreal at Bonsecours Church by Father John Richards Jackson, Sulpician.

1820: After much debate and a petition to the King of England, the fortifications of Montreal are demolished. These walls have severly restricted urban and economic growth.

1823: There are no more than a hundred houses in Griffintown, most of which are located east of Nazareth Street.

1824: Recollet Convent opens as a school for Irish children. First St. Patrick's Day Parade organized on 17 March.

1825: The Lachine Canal opens, connecting the Saint Lawrence River with the river above the city and bypassing the Lachine Rapids. Shipping immediately increases and, along with the destruction of the city walls, Montreal comes to be an economic, rather than military, city. The building of the Lachine Canal attracts many working-class families to Griffintown.

1832: Montreal incorporated as a city. During discussions on the design for a coat of arms for the city, the Irish influence on the city leads to the addition of a shamrock (with a lily for the French, a rose for the English and a thistle for the Scottish). Also this year: A cholera epidemic, linked to the newly arrived Griffintowners, causes the deaths of several thousand Montreal residents.

1840: Expansion of the Lachine Canal.

1841: There are now at least 6,500 Irish Catholics in Montreal. Most of the immigrants to Montreal settle in Griffintown, particularly in the area west of McGill Street. In this district, the area between the Lachine Railroad and the Lachine Canal becomes a slum.

1843: Construction of Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic Basilica begins. Pierre Louis Morin designs this church with the help of the Jesuit, Felix Martin. Also this year: The first labour strike in Canada occurrs, with many in Griffintown taking part.

1844: The city of Montreal becomes the capital of the Province of Canada.

1845: With nearly half a million Irish immigrants reported to have settled in Canada between 1825 and 1845, the area of Griffintown is filled to capacity. The population of the district stands at 30,000, making it the largest English-speaking minority in lower Canada in a population overwhelmingly French Canadian.

1847: In a tragic event, 6,000 people die from typhus in Griffintown and are buried in a common grave. There is a monument on Bridge Street erected in memory of these souls.

1849: Montreal replaced as capital of Canada.

1850: The population of Montreal reaches 50,000. In the years following, Griffintown becomes industrialized with sugar refineries, furriers, manufacturers, foundries, wholesalers, and other merchants.

1852: A fire from a carpentry shop burns down more than half of Griffintown.

1853: After another enlargement of the Lachine Canal, the area of Griffintown is described as being "entirely built up."

1854: St. Ann's Church opens on 08 December.

1855: Irish immigrants help to build the Victoria bridge over the Saint Lawrence River.

1857: The lower part of Griffintown entirely submerged by river flooding.

1858: The Honorable Thomas d'Arcy McGee, a newspaperman and influential Irish immigrant, represents Griffintown in the Federal Government. Not all the Irish vote for him. There are even riots in Griffintown on election day.

1861: Griffintown again flooded. The streetcar is introduced as public transportation on 27 November.

1861-1865: During the U.S. Civil War, many Griffintowners were among the 50,000 Canadians that heed the call to fight for the Union. Many Boston-based Irish units from the Union Army make regular trips to Montreal and target Griffintown as a hotbed for recruitment. Some of the Irish join voluntarily while others were victims of shady recruiting tactics like crimping.

1866: The Fenian Movement, which advocates the overthrow of the British government and establishment of a North American Irish State, reaches its zenith. The Thomas d'Arcy McGee is strongly opposed to the movement and urges all Irish Canadians to reject the Fenians.

1867: Canada is established, with Mr. McGee as one of the Fathers of Confederation. Griffintown is split on its support for the new government, with many still favoring the Fenians.

1868: In an effort to expose the oponents of the Confederation as traitors, McGee places an ad in the Montreal Gazette, listing the names of all suspected Fenian sympathizers in Griffintown. The move is harshly criticized and, after several attempts, McGee is assassinated in Ottawa on 07 April. His funeral is held at St. Patrick's Basilica. McGee's murderer is never found, but the getaway driver, Thomas Whelan from Griffintown, is tried, found guilty and executed.

1876: Mary Gallagher, a prostitute, murdered [beheaded] at the corner of Murray and William Streets on 26 June. Susan Kennedy is charged with the murder and the trial attracts large, raucous crowds. Local legend says that Mary returns to Griffintown every seven years in search of her head.

1885: Massive floods again plague the district.

1886: Worst flooding recorded - also two major fires.

1897: A survey of living conditionsis is conducted by Mr. Herbert Brown Ames. He graphically points out the discrepancy in living conditions between wealthy areas of Montreal (‘the upper city’) and the areas inhabited by the working-class (‘the city below the hill’):
   "The sanitary accommodation of ‘the city below the hill’ is a disgrace to any nineteenth century city on this or any other continent. I presume there is hardly a house in all the upper city without modern plumbing, and yet in the lower city not less than half the homes have indoor water-closet privileges. In ‘Griffintown’ only one home in four is suitably equipped, beyond the canal [in Pointe-Saint-Charles] it is but little better. Our city by-law prohibits the erection of further out-door closets, but it contains no provision for eradicating those already in use. With sewers in almost every street, no excuse for permitting this state of affairs to continue now exists, except it lies in neglect and in greed."

20th Century
1930: The future of Griffintown is abruptly decided in the Great Depression, when all industry slackens.

1940: The population of Griffintown dwindles significantly as affordable (nicer) neighborhoods attract the residents elsewhere.

1944: An RAF Liberator Bomber plane crashes at Shannon and Ottawa Streets (26 April). 15 fatalities noted.

1968: The population of Griffintown is only 1/14th Irish, with Italians and Ukranians making up most of the rest of the population.

1970: Nearly all of the Griffintown area has been bulldozed and redeveloped. St. Ann's Parish is demolished.

SOURCES
Extensive use of information collected at LINKS below
Montreal, Island City of St Lawrence. By Kathleen Jenkins, pub. 1966
Montreal. By Steven Leacock, pub. 1942
LINKS
Griffintown
Griffintown: The Irish Heart of Montreal