│ QUEBEC: THE CITY THAT WOOD BUILT │ CREDITS Project initiated by the Quebec Forest industry Council (QFIC) Funding Partners: Design: Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec Centre de transfert de technologie en foresterie (CERFO) Conférence régionale des élus de la Capitale Nationale Guy Lessard, inf.g., M.Sc. (Programme de participation régionale à la mise en valeur des Emmanuelle Boulfroy, M.Sc. forêts) David Poulin, Trainee Quebec Forest Industries Council (QFIC) Quebec Forest History Society (QFHS) Conseil de transfert de technologie en foresterie (CERFO) Patrick Blanchet, Managing Director Quebec Forest History Society (QFHS) Research and writing: Centre de transfert de technologie en foresterie (CERFO) Guy Lessard, ing.f., M.Sc. Suggested Citation: Emanuelle Boulfroy, M.Sc. David Poulin, Trainee, Forest and Environmental Management Lessard, G.1.1, E. Boulfroy1.2, P. Blanchet1.3 et D. Poulin, Quebec Forest History Society (QFHS) Patrick Blanchet, Managing Director 2008. Quebec: The City That Wood Built. Centre collégial Cyrille Gélinas, Historian (Scientific Forestry) de transfert de technologie en foresterie de Sainte-Foy Editing: (CERFO) and Quebec Forest History Society (QFHS). Louise Côté, Specialist, History of Quebec City, Parks Canada Quebec, 77 p. Yvon Desloges, Specialist, French Regime, Université Laval Marc Vallières, Specialist, English Regime Conseil de l’industrie forestière du Québec (CIFQ) Florent Boivin, Forestry Advisor Nadia Boutin, B.A. Jacques Gauvin, ing.f., M.B.A. Jean Maltais, Biologist, M.Sc. Denis Rousseau, inf.g., M.Sc. Quebec Forest History Society (QFHS) Mario Marchand, Historian Linguistic Revision: Centre de transfert de technologie en foresterie (CERFO) Claire Roy, Executive Secretary Graphic Design: Corsaire Design Natasha Genest Mélina Patry CERFO Murielle Samuel Illustrations : Alphazulu Lorraine Beaudoin 1.1 CERFO, Guy Lessard : [email protected] 1.2 CERFO, Emmanuelle Boulfroy : [email protected] 1.3 QFHS, Patrick Blanchet : [email protected] 2 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Credits INTRODUCTION Since the establishment of a trading post in 1608 at what is now Quebec City, wood and forestry have been closely linked STIRRINGS OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY to the economic growth and development of the city and the region. Whether it was used for domestic purposes or for trade, wood was a key factor in the construction of the city, the development of its economy and the shaping of its collective psyche. The city’s wood-based economy has strongly influenced its urban development as evidenced by examples of the luxurious mansions of the timber merchants of yesteryear, working-class neighbourhoods, distinctive buildings and unusual street names. Over the years, city limits A THRIVING ECONOMY progressively expanded towards the St. Lawrence River with the growth of wood-based economic activities. However, this critical period of history, with its workers, tall-masted ships, commerce and busy port, has faded in our collective memory. Through the activities and the life of individuals and communities who lived there, you are invited to take a journey of discovery through six periods of Quebec City’s history: TRANSITION AND DIVERSIFICATION (1) the early days of the wood-based economy under the French regime (17th century); (2) the heyday of squared timber during the English colonial period (1763 to the mid- 19th century); (3) a transition period during which lumber replaced squared timber as the mainstay of trade and the development of the US market (mid-19th century to 1870); (4) the first major forest industry crisis and the beginning of a RECESSION AND forest conservation movement (end of the 19th century); CONSERVATION (5) the beginnings of the pulp and paper industry and scientific forestry (early 20th century; and (6) the current period, including the development of an apparatus of government, education facilities and research centres, and the development of a secondary manufacturing industry. We hope you enjoy your journey into our past and history. A NEW BOOM STILL A CRITICAL SECTOR Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Introduction │ 3 1 FROM THE 17TH CENTURY TO 1763: STIRRINGS OF A WOOD-BASED ECONOMY In the early days of the French regime, the fur trade was the economic activity that linked the American Indians with the French settlers. In this sense, it was the mainspring of the economy of New France. However, key players among the colony’s leaders saw the use of wood and the timber trade as a more efficient way of shaping the colony’s development. Jean Talon, the first intendant of New France appointed by Louis XIV (1664-1668; 1670-1672), sought to develop this important niche market for France. To this end, he built shipyards along the St. Charles River and promoted the development of allied activities, such as the production of tar and potash. These early initiatives, however, were subject to demographic and economic constraints and did not last. They were resurrected with greater success a few years later by intendant Gilles Hocquart. An order of ships from the home country for the King’s Navy led to the establishment of the great shipyard directed by René-Nicolas Levasseur, Head of Royal Shipbuilding and Inspector of Woods and Forests. The shipyard was first located in the “du Palais” sector at the mouth of the St. Charles River. It was subsequently moved to the “Cul-de-Sac” sector which could more easily accommodate larger warships. Work was interrupted in the early 1750s. In fact, the home country had deemed that the quality of the wood from the colony did not justify the high construction costs of the day. As a result, construction subsequently focused on smaller vessels for the merchant marine. Activities related to the shipbuilding industry stimulated the development of the “Palais” sector and of the “Hiché” suburb (which came to became called the St. Roch suburb). Both areas were located INTENDANT JEAN TALON INSPECTING close to the royal shipyard. The area called lower HIS SHIPYARD IN QUEBEC CITY town also included a significant concentration of merchants. 4 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity ▌ THE FOREST PRIOR TO THE ARRIVAL OF THE FRENCH [2] Any attempt to describe the region’s forests before the arrival of the French is a risky endeavour because the natural habitats of the time, with the exception of a few delicate cliff-face ecosystems, have almost disappeared in the wake of 400 years of human occupation. However, given the minor climate and soil variations that have occurred over the past 10,000 years, we can fairly accurately describe the plant communities supported by the predominant soils based on a climax concept. Climax refers to a type of steady state capping various stages of natural succession. In this sense, maples would have been established some 5,500 years ago. Quebec City is located in the maple-basswood domain. On the heights of the city, sugar maple forests were dominant in this period. These forests included basswood, beech and elm. Red maple and peat lands thrived in the more shallow depressions, whereas red oak and white pine were probably plentiful in drier areas. Traces of thermophilic species such as ironwood and hickory were apparent here and there, most likely on the olitostrome (limestone debris) located on the western part of the city heights. Hawthorne cedar knolls clung to the bluffs of Quebec at the FIGURE 1.1. CEDARS ON THE BLUFFS time, as they do today. Champlain’s writings report that the headland at Quebec was mainly covered by a hazel stand, the trees of which were felled to build a wooden fort called an “abitation”. In all likelihood, this shade-intolerant species took hold in an old clearing. Along the St. Charles River and in the surrounding plains, various soil conditions fostered stand diversity. On the eastern shore of the river and at the foot of the headline, balsam fir stands and stands with dominant softwoods with islands of red maple, ash and balsam grew in humid sectors. Red oak and hemlock were present on long-standing sandy deposits. The western shore was populated by beech-sugar maple stands with some black ash, cedar and elm. The river’s estuary included numerous wetlands. At the northern limits of the city, the Laurentian foothills were probably covered with species typical of sugar maple-yellow birch stands: sugar maple, red maple, yellow birch with some beech and the odd giant white pine. This type of forest exists today in Mont Wright Park located near Stoneham, where one can find an old maple forest with a few yellow birch specimens dating back some 200 years. FIGURE 1.2. OLD-GROWTH FOREST ON MOUNT WRIGHT However, to capture a more accurate picture at that time, the impacts of periodic natural hazards over the years − fire, ice storms and insect epidemics – must be established. When subjected to fire, species with fire-resistant bark such as white pine and red oak resisted well, whereas spruce trees were more resistant to insects and eventually dominated softwood stands. Furthermore, in the 17th century setting, a few pioneer species (grassy prairies, birch or poplar groves) took hold in the wake of these events or of the occupation of the land by sedentary Amerindian peoples such as the Iroquoian. The analysis of charcoal pieces from the site where Quebec City was established, sketch maps and brief descriptions by Cartier and, subsequently, Champlain, confirm these assumptions. We dropped anchor at Quebec where the Canada River (St. Lawrence) forms a strait some 300 paces wide. On the north shore of this strait is a high ridge sloping on two sides, north and south. The rest of this landscape is lovely and includes good forested lands where oak, jack pine, birch, fir and aspen, as well as native fruit trees and vines, grow.