First rectory of Grand Falls (am_757)

In the beginnings, the Catholic settlers travelled to Van Buren by pirogues or canoes to attend the Sunday mass at St. Bruno church. In 1854, Father Meloy built a chapel in Grand Falls. Founded in 1868, the Assumption of Mary’s parish served nearly all of Victoria County including Drummond and the missions as far as River de Chute. The first parish priest J.-J. O’Leary asked Oliver Curless to build a rectory in 1871. It served as a residence for the parish priests until 1949. In 1882, Bishop Rogers blessed the corner stone of the wooden church completed in 1885. Father Joyner was the parish priest when the church of Grand Falls burned down on November 5, 1906. Photo taken around 1900.