Below is the official description of Maison St Gabriel but did you know this is where the orginal and one of the first Tinder, Bumble, matchmaking and speed dating took place! That is the story I will be telling you .. How the women chose their husbands in New France, what would eventually become Canada. Join me for my story of Canada,s orginal speeeding date historical site.

Existing plaque: 2146 Dublin Place, Montréal, Quebec

At the heart of one of the oldest surviving farmsteads in Canada, this farmhouse is an exceptional example of French inspired rural architecture, notable for its rubble stone masonry, pitched roof, and wood frame. Purchased by Marguerite Bourgeoys( Canada’s first school teacher ) in 1668, it was rebuilt in 1698 after a fire in 1693. For three hundred years it housed the Sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame de Montréal, who operated the farm to supply their community. This remarkable building remains a unique surviving connection with the work of Marguerite Bourgeoys, a pioneering figure in education in Canada.

Description of Historic Place

Located in the southern part of Pointe-Saint-Charles in Montréal, at the end of Dublin Place, Maison Saint-Gabriel National Historic Site of Canada is situated at the centre of a property of irregular shape which also contains a barn constructed of field stone, a well and a wooden cross. Maison Saint-Gabriel is an example of French-Canadian architecture dating from the days of the French regime. The lot is an island of pastoral greenery in a large residential sector.

Heritage Value

Maison Saint-Gabriel was designated a national historic site of Canada in 2005 because: its remarkable features and construction techniques make it an exceptional example of rural architecture of the French Regime; and, for more than 300 years, it was home to the sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame, who operated a farm, making it one of Canada oldest surviving farm properties.

The heritage value of Maison Saint-Gabriel derives from the fact that it is an exceptional example of the rural architecture of New France and it is associated with the religious work of Marguerite Bourgeoys and of the religious community Congrégation de Notre-Dame, which she founded.

Maison Saint-Gabriel is a remarkable building whose history and architecture are evocative of 17th-century New France. Erected on a rectangular plan, the impressive fieldstone house consists of a central body flanked by two small wings and topped by a steep, gable roof whose two slopes are pierced by small dormers, double chimneys and a belfry. Owing to its exterior composition, interior layout and construction techniques, it is an exceptional example of the rural architecture of New France.

It is also an exceptional testament to the religious work of Marguerite Bourgeoys and the Congrégation de Notre-Dame. Maison Saint-Gabriel was home to a small group of filles du roi (king's daughters), served as a primary school for young children and a homemaking school for young girls, and also served as a residence for nuns employed on a sharecrop farm.

Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, December 2005.