Village québécois d'antan

Conceived and created in 1977 by historian Claude Verrier at the request of the Drummond County Chamber of Commerce, Village québécois d'antan stands as Quebec's very first heritage tourism site of this type, paving the way for many similar heritage reconstructions throughout the province. The buildings that make up the village are far more than simple replicas: they are authentic 19th-century homes, collected through donations from regional families and physically transported to the site in the summer of 1977, after a public appeal had simultaneously gathered period furnishings and artifacts needed to faithfully outfit them. Today composed of over 70 buildings—including a traditional sugar shack, a rural schoolhouse, the village doctor's home, a church, and a post office—22 of which are animated by costumed guides recreating the crafts and daily activities of the 1810-1930 period, the site benefited in 2019 from a $1.1 million grant from municipal, provincial, and federal governments for the restoration of more than 33 of its buildings. The village transforms with the seasons through distinct thematic programming: the Haunted Village for Halloween, the Illuminated Village for the holiday season, and the Sweet Village in spring centered around its historic sugar shack. More recently, the site has innovated by offering visitors, as night falls, the Parallel Village—a nocturnal immersive experience combining multimedia projections, original soundscapes, and interactive performances, creating a striking contrast between daytime historical authenticity and this decidedly contemporary dreamlike dimension.