National Historic Site of Canada

Governors' Cottage National Historic Site of Canada

Sorel-Tracy, Quebec

Also known as Governors' Cottage, Château des gouverneurs

General view of Governors' Cottage, showing its formal, pillared, classically inspired entry porch, 1973.

General view of Governors' Cottage, showing its formal, pillared, classically inspired entry porch, 1973.

Photo: Agence Parcs Canada / Parks Canada Agency, 1973.

Built
1781
Recognized
1957
By
Government of Canada

The register’s text, word for word

Description

The Governors’ Cottage National Historic Site of Canada is located on the banks of the Richelieu River in Sorel, Quebec. Originally occupied as a summer residence by the early British governors and military commanders of Quebec, the one-and-a-half-storey house has a traditional Quebec-style rectangular core flanked by wings, all under steep, front-sloping gable roofs. To the rear, an open verandah looks out over gardens that were once part of a larger seigneury. Official recognition refers to the house and its property.

Heritage value

The Governors’ Cottage was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1957. It is designated because:

  • General Haldimand built this house so that the commander in chief might reside in it during time of war;
  • this house was then used as a summer residence by Governors and by commanders-in-chief.

The Governor Sir Frederick Haldimand acquired the seigneury of Sorel for the Crown in 1781 for defensive reasons, as a result of the American invasion of 1775, and as an area where soldiers, Loyalists and their families could be settled. The same year, he had a house built for General Riedesel, the core of the present cottage, to which wings were added at a later date. In 1787, Prince William Henry, later King William IV of the United Kingdom (r. 1830-1837), spent time in the house during a visit to the colony. Until 1860, it was used as a summer residence by Governors General Dorchester, Prescott, Dalhousie, and Aylmer, and by Commanders-in-Chief St. Leger, Brock, Colborne, Jackson, D’Urban and Eyre. After a succession of owners, the town of Sorel acquired the house in 1921. In April 1990 the Governor’s Cottage Exhibition Centre was inaugurated as a centre for artists.

SourceHistoric Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, June 1957.

Character‑defining elements

Key elements that contribute to the heritage character of this site include:

  • its central location and park-like setting on the Richelieu River in the town of Sorel, Quebec;
  • the simple Quebec vernacular design, with its rectangular, one-and-a-half storey original core, flanked by wings under steep, front-sloping gable roofs with end chimneys;
  • the regular placement of openings with multi-pane, sash windows, dormer windows, the central entry with a formal, pillared, classically inspired porch protecting the main entrance, the verandah with columns and the small, second-floor balcony;
  • surviving original materials and finishes, both exterior and interior, that reflect the period of its use as a residence for the commander-in-chief of the military and as a summer residence for the governors of Quebec, and any remaining evidence of the original domestic functional plan;
  • the remains of the original grounds as a surrounding garden.

End of the register’s text

Location

90 Chemin des Patriotes, Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, J3P, Canada

46.03299° N, 73.11626° W

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Nearby

All 7 places in Sorel-Tracy

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From the Canadian Register of Historic Places, as last updated on December 12, 2025. The register’s text is shown word for word.