JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1019 Report

A little piece of St. Lazare history was put on display earlier this month when a clock believed to be more than a century old was put on display in the town’s new town hall.

The wooden clock originally hung on the wall of the St. Lazare train station, back in the day when the town was one of the stops along the passenger rail line that connected the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region with Montreal.

It “bears witness to a part of our town’s history,” said Anick Chevrier, vice-president of the St. Lazare Historical Society.

Built in 1887 along Duhamel Street off the eastern end of Ste. Angèlique Road, the St. Lazare station was one of the stops along the Canadian Pacific Railway line that ran between Montreal and Toronto. Passengers travelled the route up until the 1960s, when the line fell out of service.

In 1978, the decision was made to demolish the station. Nothing remains of it today, Chevrier said, except for a few artifacts that had been carefully preserved by its last station master, Gilles Chevrier (no relation).

These pieces, which include an oil lamp, a railway signal lamp and the station’s clock, had been kept as souvenirs by Gilles Chevrier. They were donated to the St. Lazare Historical Society following his death in 2016.

According to the historical society, the clock had been installed at the station around the same time of the building’s construction.

“So the clock is at least 136 years old,” Anick Chevrier told The 1019 Report.

The city has been enthusiastic about collaborating with the historical society and liked the idea of displaying the clock in the municipal council chamber.

“They found it to be an excellent idea that this beautiful artifact, a witness to our history and our heritage, be prominently displayed,” Chevrier said.

The clock’s new home allows it to be seen and appreciated by as many people as possible, she  said, adding: “It’s all very well to promote our history and heritage, but if our things always remain in the stockroom downstairs, people won’t see them.”

As the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region has seen its population grow at a rate above the provincial average in recent years, Chevrier notes that many young people and newcomers are not aware that the town once had an active train station along the Canadian Pacific Railway.

“There are more and more residents who choose to settle in St. Lazare and who like living in St. Lazare, who have more and more curiosity to learn about how St. Lazare was 30, 50, 100 years ago,” she said.

The clock is accompanied by a plaque, giving vistors a little glimpse into the town’s past.