Hiking in Circuit patrimonial de Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu: trails, map and practical info

The circuit

The circuit map states that it is the property of the municipality of Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu and was produced by the Maison nationale des Patriotes. It numbers 19 stops in the village and draws a “suggested route” (parcours suggéré) as a dotted line. Its legend also shows interpretation panels, picnic areas, parking, the ferry, wayside crosses, and commemorative monuments and plaques.

The map is a leaflet produced in April 2012 (production date printed on the leaflet). It gives neither a distance nor a duration. Each stop is a house, a building or a site described in a few lines, with its address.

A village, a battle

According to the map, the people of Saint-Denis, “poorly armed but driven by their desire for democracy,” pushed back the British army on November 23, 1837. Two stops relate to it: the house from which the first shots of the Patriote side would be fired on the morning of the battle, and the house where wounded were cared for.

The 19 stops

De la place royale au parc des Patriotes

• 1. Maison Jean-Baptiste-Mâsse, 1809 (610 chemin des Patriotes): built by the merchant, innkeeper and Patriote sympathizer Jean-Baptiste Mâsse and designated a historic monument in 1977. Today it is the Maison nationale des Patriotes, an interpretation centre on the history of the Patriotes of 1837-1838.
• 2. Meunerie Adréus Bonnier, 1940 (610 chemin des Patriotes): the miller Adréus Bonnier's building, used as a warehouse and store for farm goods; designated a historic monument in 1977.

À vos drapeaux !

• 3. Maison Lussier, c. 1892 (627 and 629 chemin des Patriotes): built by the tailor Wilfrid Bousquet. The barber Roméo Lussier of Yves Therriault's book Le grand roman d'un petit homme was set in this house.
• 4. Maison François Cherrier, 1805 (639 chemin des Patriotes): built to the plans of parish priest François Cherrier. During the Patriote Rebellions, British army officers lived in it.

Au cœur de la paroisse

• 5. Church, 1792 (636 chemin des Patriotes): built under parish priest François Cherrier.
• 6. Presbytery, 1880 (636 chemin des Patriotes): according to the map, one of the finest in the Saint-Hyacinthe diocese, the work of artists and craftsmen of the region.
• 7. Church enclosure wall, c. 1792 (636 chemin des Patriotes): it originally surrounded the whole cemetery.
• 8. Charnel house, c. 1792 (636 chemin des Patriotes): it stored the remains of the dead in winter, when frozen ground made burials impossible.
• 9. Magloire Gaudette house and barn, 1919 (273 rue du Collège): a symbol of rural life in the heart of the village; until the 1940s it was home to cows, horses and hens.
• 10. Bonin-Jacob forge, 1892 (271 rue du Collège): built by Rodolphe Bonin and a blacksmith's shop until the 1960s; Wilbrod Jacob was its second and last blacksmith.
• 11. Potter Bélanger house, 19th century (162 rue Yamaska): Joseph Bélanger was a potter here from 1838 to 1888, and three generations of potters followed on the site.
• 12. Presumed site of the Compagnie des bâtons de clôture, 1837 (251 rue du Lion): according to the map, a barn was built there in the late 19th century.
• 13. Louis Pagé house, c. 1830 (553 chemin des Patriotes): the first shots of the Patriote side would be fired from this house on the morning of the battle, November 23, 1837.
• 14. Dormicour sisters' house, c. 1805 (549 chemin des Patriotes): several people wounded in the battle were cared for here.
• 15. Maison Huard, 1868 (583, 585, 587 and 589 chemin des Patriotes): a mansard-roofed house once called the hôtel Saint-Denis; it served as a horse relay for travellers.

Le temps qui coule

• 16. Vézina store, 19th century (599 chemin des Patriotes): several owners followed one another and kept shop here before it became the municipal office in 1998.
• 17. Magloire Vézina house, c. 1875 (609 chemin des Patriotes): Victorian in style, with a lambrequin around the gables and dormers.
• 18. Icehouse, c. 1800 (609 chemin des Patriotes): according to the map, older than the buildings around it.
• 19. Dr. Jean-Baptiste Richard house, 1905 (611 chemin des Patriotes): Queen Anne or late Victorian in style, the residence of Dr. Richard until 1954.

Before you go

The Maison nationale des Patriotes makes its outdoor circuits, including the Saint-Denis one, available free of charge and offers the map as a PDF on its “Circuits extérieurs” page. According to the museum's “Tarifs” page, admission to the Maison Jean-Baptiste-Mâsse (stop 1) is charged (free for children under 7), as is the guided village tour, offered in the summer season only.

The museum places the Maison Jean-Baptiste-Mâsse at exit 113 of Highway 20.

The map shows parking in three places. According to the 2019 tourist map of the four villages (Verchères, Calixa-Lavallée, Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu and Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu), picnic and rest areas are at place L.-J. Papineau, parc des Patriotes, parc du Sacré-Cœur (facing the church) and the roadside rest area on Route 137 toward Saint-Hyacinthe.