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 Historical account
It is in October 2001 that we bought the orchard, named Ferme Normandie at the time. The orchard belonged to Mr. Benoit Turcotte since 1989, and to his father Arsène before him, since 1962. Mr. Arsène Turcotte had acquired the ancestral land of the Faucher family, who lived on the farm from generation to generation for 300 years. It seems it was the last member of the Faucher family who planted the present-day orchard.
The Domaine de la source à Marguerite was so named in memory of a popular belief in the village of Ste-Famille: At the beginning of the colony (1685), Mother Marguerite Bourgeois, wanting to assist the teaching sisters of the congregation who were out of water, made a spring appear... a spring that has never run dry...
Apples and grape vines have been grown in Ste-Famille for some time. In 1809, the parish priest, Joseph Gagnon, had delivered from Montreal 12 apple trees and some grape vines from France. The orchard prospered so well that in 1918, one of Father Gagnon's successors, Abbott Henri Martel, purchased wire to protect his 125 apple trees (extract from the parish archives of Ste-Famille).
Mr. Louis-Philippe Turcotte (1842-1878), from the history of
the Island of Orleans. In his book, Mr. Turcotte notes: some
of the products grown on the island are renowned in the entire
country. The particular climate and the quality of the soil
account for the superiority of the island products over those
grown elsewhere in Lower Canada. Plums from the Island are remarkable
for their sweetness and mellowness …).
Size of the farm: 63 hectares
Fruit in production:
11 hectares = orchards (apple, pear, plum)
3 hectares = grape vines
There are many buildings on the farm:
- A large boutique
- A huge barn, which we have converted into a large winery
- A walk-in cooler where we can keep apples for long periods
- A garage to repair agricultural machinery
- A small garage for tools
- A small shed for storing dry goods (formerly a chicken
coop)
- A sugar cabin
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