Picnic Grounds

The Picnic Grounds are recognized as a Local Historic Place for the value of the site as a popular gathering place for the residents of Rogersville and the surrounding areas since 1888. Annual picnics and bazaars have been held on the site since that date to raise money for various works of the parish and the municipality.

The Picnic Grounds are also recognized as a Local Historic Place in order to highlight the importance of the colonization work of Mgr. Marcel-François Richard (1847-1915), founder of Rogersville and Acadieville. It was with the funds raised at the first picnic and bazaar that Mgr. Richard began construction of the Rogersville church. Thanks to the numerous picnics and bazaars and the work of the Société de Colonisation, Mgr. Richard contributed greatly to the development of new parishes and colonies in the surrounding regions. In addition to being a priest, an ardent nationalist and a promoter of education, Mgr. Marcel-François Richard rightly earned the title “apôtre de la colonisation” [apostle of colonization].

The Picnic Grounds are further recognized for being part of a complex of religious and patriotic institutions that have been located on the same lot since the latter part of the nineteenth century. With the Assumption Monument, the Saint-François-de-Sales Church and the presbytery nearby, the first picnics and bazaars held on this site were organized by the clergy and played a role in strengthening the patriotic and religious faith of the residents.