The land upon which the Fairmont Le Château Montebello currently resides was once part of a massive founded by the Papineau family in 1801. The scions of Joseph Papineau, the Papineau family was heavily involved in Canadian politics throughout the 19th century. They specifically championed the preservation of French-Canadian culture and political power at a time when Canada’s national identity was becoming far more anglicized. Louis-Joseph Papineau was the most prominent politician born of the family, having founded the nationalistic Patriote Movement of the early 1800s. The movement eventually spawned a revolt known as the Lower Canada Rebellion, which sought to resist the rise in British colonial power in Québec. Louis-Joseph Papineau was one of the central leaders, alongside such individuals as Jean-Oliver Chénier and Thomas Storrow Brown. Fought in the late 1830s, the rebellion ultimately proved futile. The uprising was quelled in 1838, with many of the ringleaders interred in various prison camps. Papineau himself fled into exile a year later, only returning to Canada in 1845 when he was finally granted amnesty.

Louis-Joseph Papineau soon returned to political life, serving in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1848 to 1852. (The Province of Canada was a union formed between the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada following the failed rebellion of the late 1830s). A committed republican, Papineau remained committed to protecting the rights of French Canadians during his term in office. Around this time, he constructed a magnificent turreted stone manor on the grounds of his family’s estate called “Manior Papineau.” Constructed downstream from Montréal along the banks of the Ottawa River, Papineau lived at the estate with his wife and four children for the remainder of his life. It would continue as the home of the Papineau family for the next seven decades, with his youngest daughter, Azélie, inheriting it sometime after his death in 1871. According to Parks Canada—which became the steward of the site in 1993—the manor’s architecture:

• “Represents a blend of stylistic influences similar in many respects to that which is encountered in contemporaneous neoclassical villas. Its sculpted decor recalls the Greek Revival style. From the river, the house appears as a monumental elevation flanked by two corner towers. The facade and hip slopes of the roof present an overhang of unusual proportions, in a muted reference to the Regency style. The conic roof atop the stair tower built following a fire in 1892 is representative of the Queen Anne Revival. Finally, interior door openings between adjoining rooms were aligned to create particular interior perspectives, in keeping with French architectural tradition. The spiral staircase located in one of the towers also shows the influence of this tradition. The unusual positioning of the main reception rooms to the back of the ground floor, combined with the abundant fenestration on the lower two levels of the east tower, recall that a conservatory was once located here.”

This brilliant destination is now recognized by the Canadian government as a National Historic Site of Canada. Its amazing architectural designs are some of the finest in the region, as are its views overlooking the Ottawa River. But the site is also a widely celebrated landmark in Québec due to its connection to Louis-Joseph Papineau. Even though Papineau’s movement ultimately failed during the late 1830s, it had successfully sparked a proud sense of patriotism among the Québécoise that lasts to this very day. As such, the Manoir Papineau National Historic Site continues to be one of the most important symbols of French-Canadian heritage in Canada today.

When Harold M. Saddlemire began developing his exclusive wilderness retreat along the banks of the Ottawa River, he intended for it to be unmatched in its rustic beauty and elegance. As such, he tasked the renowned Finnish architect Victor Nymark to create its beautiful appearance. Having just completed the Jasper Park Lodge in Alberta—another member of Historic Hotels Worldwide—Nymark was celebrated throughout Canada for his rustic woodworking. And like the Jasper Park Lodge, he relied upon the area’s pastoral environment as the source of his inspiration. Nymark worked closely with a contractor named Harold Landry Furst, who managed the 3,500 team of workers that created the Seignory Club. Taking just four months to complete, hundreds of laborers worked around the clock on alternating schedules every day of the week. Nymark and Furst even imported electrical lighting so that the work would continue unfettered late into the night. But the most surprising aspect of the project was that the craftsmen and workers built a significant portion of the club before either Nymark or Furst had even furnished the final blueprints!

In all, Nymark and Furst imported some 10,000 red cedar logs from British Columbia to develop the Seignory Club’s main structure (now the Fairmont Le Château Montebello), as well as its two attending buildings. The transportation of the wood from across Canada proved to be easier than expected, since a local spur of the Canadian Pacific Railway was located mere moments away. Measuring at 4 million cubic feet, the club’s main building ranked among the largest log cabins ever constructed in the entire world. The logs themselves were painted black on the outside and were festooned with countless decorative wall carvings. Nymark and Furst divided the building’s layout into four distinctive, star-shaped wings that housed more than 200 beautiful guestrooms and suites. A magnificent central lobby sat at the center, capped by a three-story atrium and 70-foot-long rotunda. The lobby’s fireplace served as the centerpiece of the space, which included a massive chimney that rose 65 feet above the ground. Nymark and Furst also used more than 500,000 hand-slit cedar roof shakes for the main building’s roofing, as well as 103 miles of wooden molding.

The specific architectural style that characterized the Seignory Club’s overall appearance is best defined as “National Park Service Rustic.” As the name would suggest, the form first became prominent in the United States before its spread into Canada. Architect Herbert Maier conceptualized the aesthetic while he was studying the Arts and Crafts movement at the University of California, Berkeley, in the early 20th century. Rejecting the design aesthetics of industrialized society, Maier created an architectural form that utilized building materials to better connect a structure to its natural surroundings. Following his graduation from school, he quickly set about designing several structures with his novel architectural approach. Maier found a particularly receptive audience at the National Park Service, as many alumni—including his friend Ansel F. Hall—had graduated from the University of California, Berkeley around the same time. Other architects soon adopted Maier’s mentality and it quickly became the preferred architectural style of the National Park Service. Its use only became more widespread in America when the Civilian Conservation Corps began erecting dozens of new park structures during the 1930s. Yet, its popularity throughout North America eventually waned by the middle of the century, as architects began embracing newer design philosophies.

Bing Crosby, singer and actor known for his roles in Going My Way and The Bells of St. Mary’s.

Joan Crawford, actress known for her roles in Mildred Place and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

Bette Davis, actress known for her roles in All About Eve, Jezebel, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Perry Como, singer remembered as “Mr. C” who won five Emmy Awards.

Lester B. Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada (1963 – 1968)

Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada (1968 – 1979; 1980 – 1984)

Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada (2006 – 2015)

Helmut Schmidt, Chancellor of West Germany (1974 – 1982)

Giovanni Spadolini, Prime Minister of Italy (1981 – 1982)

Zenkō Suzuki, Prime Minister of Japan (1980 – 1982)

François Mitterrand, President of France (1981 – 1995)

Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1979 – 1990)

Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico (2006 – 2012)

Prince Rainier III of Monaco (1949 – 2005)

Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco, famous American film actress known for Mogambo and wife of Prince Rainier III.

Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1948 – 1980)

Emperor Akihito of Japan (1989 – 2019)

King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (1936; later the Duke of Windsor following his abdication)

Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States (1945 – 1953)

Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States (1981 – 1989)

George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States (2001 – 2009)

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The Kate Logan Affair (2010)

The Jensen Project (2010)